Rilevare, analizzare e interpretare le orme umane fossili

Abstract

The power of footprints to record and pass on the complexity of movements and body structure of living beings is well known. Techniques for two- and three-dimensional survey, analysis, and interpretation of ichnological data are becoming increasingly numerous and complex, but they have not yet lost their dependence on many different conventions and their various degree of interpretation. Particularly interesting for palaeoanthropologists are hominin fossil footprints, which are extremely rare but have the power to give precious knowledge about our ancient relatives, their body structure, their behaviour, the environment in which they lived. In this paper, we review the main analysis techniques known to date and we show the conventions applied to the study of the “Ciampate del diavolo” in the light of the particular characteristics of the palaeontological site preserving them.