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fragments of vertebrae and ribs, part of the ilium, pieces of humerus, ulna, radius, femur, tibia, fibula; and a tarsal and two phalanges.” More discoveries were to follow: “On the 25th of the same month, Carlo Germani brought me two fragments of lower jaw, and some teeth of smaller size and different shape than the first, found at a distance of 2 meters [7 feet] from them, but at the same depth. Uncertain whether they belonged to a young individual or to an anthropomorphic ape, I returned once more to Castenedolo with Signor Germani, and was able to collect: a great quantity of upper cranial fragments (which I suspected belonged to two individuals), the left orbital of the frontal, two parietals, a fragment of the upper jaw with two molars, other free teeth, and fragments of ribs and limbs. All of them were completely covered with and penetrated by the clay and small fragments of coral and shells, which removed any suspicion that the bones were those of persons buried in graves, and on the contrary confirmed the fact of their transport by the waves of the sea” (Ragazzoni 1880, p. 122).

Figure 6.4. This anatomically modern human skull (Sergi 1884, plate 1) was found in 1880, at Castenedolo, Italy. The stratum from which it was taken is assigned to the Astian stage of the Pliocene (Oakley 1980, p. 46). According to modern authorities (Harland et al. 1982, p. 110), the Astian belongs to the Middle Pliocene, which would give the skull an age of 3– 4 million years.

On February 16, Germani advised Ragazzoni that a complete skeleton was discovered. Ragazzoni (1880, p. 122) journeyed to the site and supervised the excavation, instructing the workmen to “use the greatest diligence so as to be able to ascertain as clearly and exactly as possible the reality of the facts.” According to Ragazzoni (1880, p. 122), they “removed the strata successively from higher to lower, with the intent of exposing the entire skeleton.” This was accomplished. About the remains, Ragazzoni (1880, pp. 122 –123) wrote: “The skeleton, slightly inclined to the southeast, appeared to have been subjected to a kind of pressure in an oblique direction from south to north by movement of the strata in which it was found; consequently, it was from the region of the pelvis that we recovered the majority of the ribs, which appeared to have been crushed from above. The cranium was bent somewhat to the right. The lower jaw was detached and the separated facial bones were encased in a mass of blue-green clay penetrating the cavity of the cranium, which presented a variety of fractures.” The cranium, as restored by G. Sergi ( Figure 6.4), was indistinguishable from that of a modern woman.

Ragazzoni (1880, p. 121) then stated: “I desired to make photographs, but the perverse winter weather prevented it. In spite of the bad weather, the next morning I returned to the site with my son Pietro, and resolved to remove the entire skeleton despite the icy rain, which did, however, by penetrating the clay, make it easier to take out the bones.” Ragazzoni (1880, p. 123) wrote: “Differing from the set of remains found in 1860, and the other two found earlier this year [1880 ], the complete skeleton was found in the middle of the layer of blue clay . . . over which passes a layer of medium yellow sand.” The other skeletons were found lower in the blue clay, at the point where it meets the underlying bank of coral and shells (Figure 6.3). Ragazzoni (1880, p. 123) added: “The stratum of blue clay, which is over 1 meter [3 feet] thick, has preserved its uniform stratification, and does not show any sign of disturbance. In accordance with the judgement of the excavator himself, who is not preoccupied with any preconceived ideas, the skeleton was very likely deposited in a kind of marine mud and not buried at a later time, for in this case one would have been able to detect traces of the overlying yellow sand and the iron-red clay called ferretto, which forms the top part of the hill, and which by successive flooding has washed down and covered the lower formations of conglomerate