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A set of preserved footprints suggests that ancient humans often went scrambling on the steep slopes of an active volcano, even in the aftermath of a major eruption. The volcano may have been an important site for them.

The identity of the hominins isn鈥檛 certain, but they may have been Neanderthals.

The footprints can be found on the Roccamonfina volcano in southern Italy, which has been extinct for 50,000 years. Local people called them 鈥渄evil鈥檚 trails鈥�, because only a supernatural being could walk such a dangerous path.

However, in 2003, archaeologists led by Paolo Mietto of the University of Padua in Italy . They were preserved in volcanic ash, which erupted 385,000 to 325,000 years ago. That is probably before our species existed.

At the time, , in three tracks. Later studies found more.

Footprints galore

The team has now found another 14 footprints, bringing the total to 81. At least five individuals made them.

The first 67 footprints found all belonged to people heading downhill, but some of the new ones face uphill. This suggests the hominins walked up the volcano soon after a violent eruption produced a pyroclastic flow: a lethal cloud of hot dust and gas.

They were probably regular visitors, says team member Adolfo Panarello of the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio in Italy. In line with this, the hominins weren鈥檛 running, but walking at a relaxed speed.

鈥淭here was always this question of whether humans were running away from the volcano,鈥� says Isabelle De Groote at Ghent University in Belgium. 鈥淭here is at least one person that seems to be coming back.鈥�

De Groote has studied the Happisburgh footprints in the UK: the oldest hominin footprints outside Africa. She says the Roccamonfina footprints stand out because they were all made by adults. 鈥淭hey must have been leaving the children behind and doing activities away from wherever they were living,鈥� she says.

A rock and a hot place

There are many possible reasons for the hominins to visit the volcano.

鈥淭he so-called 鈥榤ountains of fire鈥� do not always generate only destruction,鈥� says Panarello. Volcanic eruptions create fertile soil, so wildlife often thrives near them. Today, millions of people live near active volcanoes, despite the risks.

The team has also found two stone artefacts. One is a sharp tool, and the other is a lump that shows signs of having had sharp flakes chipped off it. These imply that the volcano could have been a source of stone for making tools.

鈥淭here could have been hot water from springs that they could have used for washing,鈥� adds De Groote. However, she says such ideas are purely speculative unless supporting evidence is found.

Neanderthals about

Meanwhile, analysis of the footprints points to the identity of the trackmakers. Panarello and his colleagues say the size and shape of the prints match a hominin foot from Sima de los Huesos: the 鈥減it of bones鈥� in Atapuerca, northern Spain.

The Sima bones were long thought to be Homo heidelbergensis, which had been tentatively identified as an ancestor of both humans and Neanderthals. However, in 2016, ancient DNA revealed that the Sima hominins were probably Neanderthals. The implication is that Neanderthals also made the Roccamonfina volcano footprints.

Still, Panarello is cautious. 鈥淲e have decided to keep the attribution to a specific species still pending,鈥� he says.

De Groote is also holding back. She says there are no prints from Sima de los Huesos, and no foot fossils from Roccamonfina, so it is hard to make a watertight case.