Scenarios for the dispersal of Homo sapiens in Southern Europe and in the Mediterranean basin have been uncertain, given the scarceness of osteological samples and the simplicity of the proposed archaeologically-based settlement hypotheses. According to available data, the first anatomically modern humans entered Sicily during the Late Pleistocene, coming from the Italian peninsula. A presumably small Late Epigravettian population colonised coastal sites. Later, North-Western archaeological horizons gave hospitality to a significant Mesolithic expansion. In order to verify a hypothesis of continuity in the peopling of the island, we analyzed Sicilian skulls from the Late Epigravettian site of San Teodoro, Eastern Sicily (AMS 14C dated at 14,500 BP) and from the Mesolithic period (14C dated from 9,500 to 8,500 BP) coming from various sites (Uzzo, Molara, Grotta d'Oriente) located on the North Western coast of the island. The aims were to test the biological variability through time within the island as well as to evaluate the relationships of Sicilian Pleistocene hunter-gatherers with Old World populations. We also evaluated the Sicilian Mesolithic uniformity especially between the Uzzo and Grotta d'Oriente sites, given their vicinity and accessibility during the Early Holocene. We applied 3D geometric morphometric methods to assess shape variation as well as geographic and diachronic morphological patterns. All analyzed specimens, plus a comparative sample from the Old World dated from the Upper Paleolithic to recent periods, were transformed in digital images and standard craniofacial landmarks were extracted from the 3D models. Our results underline a high variability among the Mesolithic specimens, as well as a large craniometric distance from the presumed founder Paleolithic settler representatives (San Teodoro specimens) that have closer morphological affinities with other European Upper Paleolithic specimens.

中文翻译：

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来自西西里岛的旧石器时代晚期和中石器时代头骨的形态变异。

考虑到骨学样本的稀缺性和提出的基于考古学的定居假设的简单性，智人在南欧和地中海盆地的扩散情景一直不确定。根据现有数据，第一批解剖学上的现代人类在更新世晚期从意大利半岛进入西西里岛。一个可能很小的晚 Epigravettian 人口在沿海地区殖民。后来，西北考古视野为中石器时代的重大扩张提供了热情。为了验证岛上居民的连续性假设，我们分析了来自西西里岛东部圣特奥多罗晚 Epigravettian 遗址（AMS 14C 年代为 14,500 BP）和中石器时代（14C 年代为 9,500 至 8,500 年）的西西里头骨BP) 来自不同的站点 (Uzzo, Molara, Grotta d'Oriente) 位于该岛的西北海岸。目的是测试岛上随时间推移的生物变异性，以及评估西西里更新世狩猎采集者与旧世界人口的关系。我们还评估了西西里中石器时代的均匀性，尤其是在 Uzzo 和 Grotta d'Oriente 遗址之间，考虑到它们在全新世早期的邻近性和可达性。我们应用 3D 几何形态测量方法来评估形状变化以及地理和历时形态模式。所有分析的标本，加上旧世界从旧石器时代晚期到近代的比较样本，都被转换成数字图像，并从 3D 模型中提取标准颅面地标。