Publications by authors named "Mario Micheli"
Complete Neanderthal skeletons are almost unique findings. A very well-preserved specimen of this kind was discovered in 1993 in the deepest recesses of a karstic system near the town of Altamura in Southern Italy. We present here a detailed description of the cranium, after we virtually extracted it from the surrounding stalagmites and stalactites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRaman, SEM-EDS and XRPD investigations on pre-Columbian Central America "estucado" pottery.
Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc
March 2016
Article Synopsis
- Researchers analyzed 17 colored fragments from six pre-Columbian estucado ceramics in El Salvador using various techniques, including Raman spectroscopy and SEM/EDS.
- The unique feature of these ceramics is the use of a white stucco engobe between the ceramic body and decorative elements, prompting the study of its manufacturing technique and chemical composition.
- Findings revealed that both the stucco and decorative layers share a similar composition of kaolinite and titanium oxide, indicating a low-temperature production method, with natural ochre used for certain colors and Maya blue pigment identified for others.
In 1993, a fossil hominin skeleton was discovered in the karst caves of Lamalunga, near Altamura, in southern Italy. Despite the fact that this specimen represents one of the most extraordinary hominin specimens ever found in Europe, for the last two decades our knowledge of it has been based purely on the documented on-site observations. Recently, the retrieval from the cave of a fragment of bone (part of the right scapula) allowed the first dating of the individual, the quantitative analysis of a diagnostic morphological feature, and a preliminary paleogenetic characterization of this hominin skeleton from Altamura.
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