Grimaldi Man

Grimaldi man was a name given in the early 20th century to an Italian find of two paleolithic skeletons. When found, the skeletons were the subject of dubious scientific theories on human evolution, partly fueled by biased reconstruction of the skulls by the scientists involved. While the skeletons differ markedly from the contemporary Cro-Magnon finds from other parts of Europe, the Grimaldi find, together with various other finds of early modern humans, was classified as Cro-Magnon (in the wider sense) in the 1960s, though the term European early modern humans is today preferred for this assemblage.

In the late 19th century, several stone age finds of extreme age had been made in the caves and rock shelters around the "Balzi Rossi" (the Red Cliff) near Ventimiglia in Italy. One of the more dramatic was that of two children with snail-shell belts in what was named as "Grotte dei fanciulli" (Cave of the Children) as well as stone tools and several Venus figurines. Around the turn of the 20th century, Albert I, Prince of Monaco financed the archaeological exploration of the seven most important caves. These were named "Caves of Grimaldi" in honour of the House of Grimaldi. The find is on display in Le Musée d'anthropologie préhistorique in Monaco.

The caves yielded several finds. The remains from one of the caves, the "Barma Grande", have in recent time been radiocarbon dated to 25 000 years old, which places it in the Upper Paleolithic.

The Grotte dei fanciulli held Aurignacian artifacts and reindeer remains in the upper layers, while the lower layers exhibited a more tropical fauna with Merck's rhinoceros, hippopotamus and straight-tusked elephant. The lowermost horizon held Mousterian tools, associated with Neanderthals. The Grimaldi skeletons were found in the lower Aurignacian layer in June 1901, by the Canon de Villeneuve. The two skeletons appeared markedly different from the Cro-Magnon skeletons found higher in the cave and in other caves around Balzi Rossi, and was named "Grimaldi man" in honour of the Prince.

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