Ripari Villabruna#Villabruna 1
{{short description|Cave and archaeological site in Italy}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Ripari Villabruna
| native_name = Ripari Villabruna
| alternate_name =
| image = Riparo Villabruna.jpg
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| map_type = Italy North#Italy
| map_alt = Ripari Villabruna in Italy
| map_caption = location in Italy
| map_size = 240 px
| relief = yes
| coordinates = {{coord|46|05|03.4|N|11|45|51.6|E|display=inline,title}}
| location = near Feltre
| region = Cismon valley, province of Belluno, Italy
| type = Abri
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| cultures = Epigravettian, 14,000 years ago
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| occupants = Cro-Magnon
| event =
| excavations = late 1980s
| archaeologists = Giuseppe Vercellotti
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Ripari Villabruna is a small rock shelter in northern Italy with Mesolithic burial remains. It contains several Cro-Magnon burials, with bodies and grave goods dated to 14,000 years BP. The site has added greatly to the understanding of the Mesolithic development of medicalGiuseppe Vercellotti, [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giuseppe_Vercellotti/publication/40853703_The_Late_Upper_Paleolithic_skeleton_Villabruna_1_(Italy)_a_source_of_data_on_biology_and_behavior_of_a_14.000_year-old_hunter/links/02e7e53342f1d50945000000.pdf The Late Upper Paleolithic skeleton Villabruna 1 (Italy): a source of data on biology and behavior of a 14.000 year-old hunter], Journal of Anthropological Sciences, v.86, 143-163 (2008). and religious practices in early human communities.Andrew Clifford, The Geologic Model of Religion (Andrew Clifford, 2012) [https://books.google.com/books?id=85WlOkB9nyAC&pg=PA134 p134].Antonio Beltrán, Paleoantropologia e preistoria: origini, paleolitico, mesolitico (Editoriale Jaca Book, 1993) [https://books.google.com/books?id=EqkqkgSy1w8C&pg=PA418].
History
The ablation and removal of debris in the Cismon valley, in the Sovramonte municipality, province of Belluno, Italy during the late 1980s led to the discovery of several rock shelters (abris). Located at a height of {{convert|500|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level they show impressive traces of settlement by prehistoric people and their activities.
The rock shelters, named after their discoverer "Ripari Villabruna", are part of a complex system of sites that reach from the lowest points of the valley to alpine heights. Excavations confirm that humans frequently occupied the site for short periods in a late Epigravettian cultural context, carbon dated to begin around 14,000 years ago and continuing to the middle of the ensuing Holocene.{{cite web |url=http://www.archeoagordo.it/12/i_ripari_villabruna.htm |title=The Sheds Villabruna |newspaper=Archeoagordo.it |access-date= January 9, 2017}}
Villabruna 1
{{See also|Western Hunter-Gatherer}}
File:Cranio del Cacciatore della Val Rosna.jpg
A grave that contained a well-preserved skeleton was discovered at the base of the archaeological layers in 1988. Direct AMS dating of the skeletal remains revealed a date 14,160 to 13,820 years before present. The burial took place during the first stages of the human settlement in the rock shelters. The corpse was placed into a narrow, shallow pit {{cvt|30|to|40|cm}} in depth, the head turned to the left with arms stretched touching the body, and were of an adult male, about twenty-five years old, characterized by a relatively tall stature for the time period.{{cite web |url=http://www.isita-org.com/jass/Contents/2008%20vol86/09_Vercelotti.pdf |title=The Late Upper Paleolithic skeleton Villabruna 1 |publisher=Ista-org.com |access-date= January 9, 2017}}
Six grave attachments were placed to the body's left. The typical equipment of a hunter-gatherer included a flint (fire stone) knife, a flint core, another stone as hammer, a blade of flint, a bone tip, a pellet of ochre and Propolis (a resinous matter, produced by bees). Limestone platelets decorated with ochre drawings had been placed on top of the tomb.{{cite web |url=http://www2.muse.it/pubblicazioni/7/28.1/AimarA,etAlii1994_PA28.1_Les%20Abris%20Villabruna%20dans%20le%20Vall%C3%A9e%20du%20Cismon_IMM&OCR.pdf |title= Les Abris Villabruna dans la Vallée du Cismòn |publisher=muse.it |access-date= January 11, 2017}}
The excellent preservation of the Villabruna 1 skeleton helped to thoroughly investigate various aspects of skeletal biology, such as body size, craniofacial morphology, tooth wear, functional anatomy, and nutritional and pathological aspects. Comparing Villabruna 1 and similar finds with today's people widened the understanding of biocultural adjustments, the living conditions and survival strategies of the Paleolithic population of Europe.{{cite web |url=http://www.evolution-mensch.de/Fundort/Ripari_Villabruna.html |title=Ripari Villabruna, Italien - evolution-mensch de |publisher=Evolution-mensch.de |access-date= January 9, 2017}}
Villabruna 1 is significant in terms of the genetic history of Europe: the remains were found to carry Y-DNA haplogroup R1b1a-L754* (xL389,V88). This is the oldest documented example of haplogroup R1b found anywhere.{{Cite journal |last1=Fu |first1=Qiaomei |last2=Posth |first2=Cosimo |last3=Hajdinjak |first3=Mateja |last4=Petr |first4=Martin |last5=Mallick |first5=Swapan |last6=Fernandes |first6=Daniel |last7=Furtwängler |first7=Anja |last8=Haak |first8=Wolfgang |last9=Meyer |first9=Matthias |last10=Mittnik |first10=Alissa |last11=Nickel |first11=Birgit |last12=Peltzer |first12=Alexander |last13=Rohland |first13=Nadin |last14=Slon |first14=Viviane |last15=Talamo |first15=Sahra |date=2016-05-02 |title=The genetic history of Ice Age Europe |journal=Nature |volume=534 |issue=7606 |pages=200–205 |doi=10.1038/nature17993 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=4943878 |pmid=27135931 |bibcode=2016Natur.534..200F |quote=We were surprised to find haplogroup R1b in the ~14,000-year-old Villabruna individual from Italy. While the predominance of R1b in western Europe today is owes its origin to Bronze Age migrations from the eastern European steppe9, its presence in Villabruna and in a ~7,000-year-old farmer from Iberia9 document a deeper history of this haplotype in more western parts of Europe.}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.evolution-mensch.de/Fundort/Ripari_Villabruna.html Ripari Villabruna, Italien (in German)]
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