ABSTRACT
The Principality of Monaco is a small country with an area approximately 1.97 sq km and a population of c. 33,000 inhabitants, many of whom are not native to Monaco. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, in the middle of the Riviera between France and Italy, and this geographic position has made this country a popular place in history for international meetings between people from Monaco, France, Italy and many more countries. Human settlement in this area dates back to prehistory (Simone 1993), and the roots of the Grimaldi family (the traditional rulers of the Principality) lie in the Late Middle Ages when the Principality was ruled by the House of Grimaldi (De Rosa 2007). Since 8 January 1297, Monaco has maintained its independence (Costanzo 2006). The history of the country is strictly connected to the history of the Grimaldi family and it is
mainly thanks to its rulers that the country has rapidly become an important economic and research centre. One of the branches of research that has a long and important tradition in Monaco (see, e.g., Landwerlin 1986) is that of anthropology. The ruling family has generously supported research in anthropology during the last two centuries. Unfortunately this short chapter is just a brief summary of the Principality’s regulations and
laws on cultural heritage, as far as it is based mostly on bibliographical research and a very short number of brief interviews of researchers who have visited Monaco for their research. The tradition of anthropological research began in 1846 when Prince Florestan I began to
document the exploration of the Grimaldi caves (the so called ‘Balzi Rossi’ – in Italy, but very close to Monaco: Graziosi 1976). These Grimaldi caves, located partly on a red rock cliff (hence the name ‘Balzi Rossi’), were a suitable shelter for prehistoric communities that left behind rich burials and a huge quantity of artefacts, and at least one painting (depicting a horse). The most ancient evidence of human activity (stone tools) and human presence (a female human bone) in these caves dates back to 200,000-150,000 years ago. It was thanks to the intervention of Princes Florestan and Albert I that this archaeological
complex was saved from bad excavations and modern building works. Prince Albert I gave the study of this site and material to famous archeologists including Verneau, Boule and Cartailhac. Since then and until the present day, many institutions (e.g., Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia
Umana and Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri) have intervened in different missions and have studied the site and its materials. This work has recovered a total of 16 skeletons, all dated to the Upper Palaeolithic (see
Formicola et al. 2004), among which the most famous are:
Two children buried with seashells, from the ‘Grotta dei Fanciulli’; An adult individual with a rich supply of lithic lames and seashells, also from the ‘Grotta dei
Fanciulli’; A very interesting burial with two individuals (an elderly woman and a young woman), also
from the ‘Grotta dei Fanciulli’; The skeleton of an adult individual, covered in red ochre, and a supply of lithic tools and
seashells, from the ‘Grotta del Caviglione’; The burial of three individuals found in a grave and covered in ochre, with a number of
artefacts, from the ‘Barma Grande’.
