Descending the slopes of Roccamonfina Volcano in northern Italy, humanoid footprints have long been considered the Devil’s mark, as the footprints were inevitably created when the slopes of the volcano melted. And who but the Devil can walk on flowing lava without burning his feet? Since the discovery of ancient footprints in the late 18th century, locals have claimed that the Ciampate del Diavolo (Devil’s Footprints) is evidence that demons have left hell through the crater and joined the human race. people on Earth. This theory held firm for more than two centuries until 2002, when two amateur archaeologists brought the tracks to the world’s attention.
Roccamonfina volcano, Italy (public domain)
The site, located between the villages of Tuoro/Foresta and Piccilli in Campania, Italy, includes three sets of fossilized footprints and a few scattered handprints. Those who do not believe that they are traces of the Devil claim that they are traces of ancient animals. It wasn’t until researchers from the University of Padua examined the fingerprints that it was discovered they were of human origin. Furthermore, it is believed that these footprints were created between 385,000 and 325,000 years ago. This makes the Devil’s Footprints the oldest known human footprints, a title the prints held until the discovery of the Happisburgh Footprints in England in 2013, which date back about 800,000 years. .
Happisburgh Footprints, England (British Museum)
The footprints of ancient people are rarely so well preserved in open environments. Experts believe that these tracks were created in volcanic lava flows – often consisting of ash, pumice and rock fragments – and then covered with volcanic ash. A paper published by the University of Padua team said: “Strigraphic studies have demonstrated that the deposit is a dense pyroclastic flow deposit, the result of multiple collapses of an eruptive column Sub-Plinian of the Roccamonfina volcano…the trampled surface is covered by another pyroclastic flow” ( Santello, 2008). It was not until the late 18th and early 19th centuries that erosion had eroded enough of the volcanic layers to reveal traces.
“Ciampate del Diavolo”, 350,000 year old footprint at Tora e Piccilli (CE) Italy (public domain)
Among the many notable features of the Devil’s Footprints, one of the most striking are the handprints occasionally found along them on the cliffs of the volcano. This suggests the tracks were made by hominins who walked straight but needed to steady themselves as they plunged dangerously downhill. This theory is supported by evidence that the people who made the course carefully chose their route down the mountainside. The first set of tracks, consisting of 27 footprints, formed a “Z” shape, suggesting that the hiker had applied a reverse technique when going downhill. The second and third groups of tracks, consisting of 19 and 10 tracks respectively, go downhill in relatively straight lines. All tracing was done by walking, not running.
“These traces give us unique insight into the activities of some of the earliest known Europeans,” said Paolo Mietto from the University of Padua. “There are no previous records of early Pleistocene tracks that suggest handprints were involved, nor are there any prominent examples of deliberate attempts to traverse steep surfaces. ”
Researchers believe that the tracers were fully bipedal (two-legged) hominins with a free-standing gait (meaning they only needed to use their arms for support or grabs). balance again). “These tracks were made by pre-sapien species, possibly Homo Electus or late European Homo Heidelbergensis,” said Mietto, referring to Neanderthal precursors. The footprint is approximately 8 inches (20 cm) long and 4 inches (10 cm) wide. The average stride is about 4 feet (1.2 m) and the average distance between the legs is about two feet (0.6m). Based on this information, experts can conclude that the printers were only about 1.5 meters tall.
Head and shoulders model of an adult male Homo heidelbergensis on display in the Department of Human Origins at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC (public domain)
Today, we may never know what people are doing on volcanoes. Given that all the tracks led in the same direction – away from the crater – a widely accepted theory holds that hominins were descending the volcano to escape the eruption. “During the break between one eruptive event and the next in the same volcanic series, meteor showers occurred, saturating the surface. Many hominids then walked on plastic and relatively cold surfaces, leaving tracks in their tracks” (Santello, 2008).
In other words, “It is reasonable to infer that these people actually witnessed the eruption,” Mietto said.
Although the Devil’s Footprints are the oldest preserved footprints of the genus Homo, they are not the oldest human footprints; That honor belongs to the famous Laetoli Footsteps in Tanzania, traces left 3.5 million years ago by the human ancestor Australopithecus afarensis.
