The human fossils from Corbeddu Cave, Sardinia: a reappraisal

The morphology of a human maxilla and a temporal bone found in pre-Neolithic layers of Corbeddu Cave on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia is re-evaluated. The one unusual aspect of these remains is the aberrant alveolar process of the maxilla, and it is concluded that this morphology is unlikely to have resulted from any pathological process. However, there is insufficient ground for previous claims that the alveolar morphology is indicative of molars that were unusually large for Homo sapiens, and that this morphology represents evidence of endemism, the result of genetic isolation of the pre- Neolithic Sardinian population.