Neanderthal skeleton discovery wrestles with time in Altamura cave
In a cave in southern Italy, the fossils of a unique Neanderthal have been hanging upside down for about 150,000 years. This extraordinary skeleton, named the Man of Altamura, is one of the most spectacular paleoanthropological discoveries. It may shed light on some mysteries of our evolution — provided that scientists can manage to extract it.
As reported by IFL Science, the skeleton was discovered in 1993 in a complex cave system in Altamura, located in the Italian province of Bari. It immediately caught the attention of researchers due to its unusual orientation and coating with so-called cave popcorn. These popcorn structures are speleothems that form from the precipitation of mineral substances from aqueous solutions on rock surfaces.
Mysteries of the Altamura Neanderthal
According to researchers, the skeleton belongs to a Neanderthal who fell into the Lamalunga cave and either died on the spot or starved to death, unable to escape. Calcite deposits permanently trapped his bones in the cave, where they remained hidden for many years. Unfortunately, the skeleton of the Man of Altamura is fully fused with the rock, complicating its extraction.
This poses a significant problem for researchers because the skeleton is a fossil human's most complete single skeleton. Uranium-thorium dating indicated that he lived between 130,000 and 172,000 years ago. Only in 2015 did scientists obtain bone fragments for DNA analysis, confirming that they belonged to a Neanderthal.
Subsequent studies conducted in the cave using portable X-ray devices and mini laser scanners revealed that the Man of Altamura had a range of morphological features not associated with "classic Neanderthals." Digital reconstruction of the skull showed similarities to an older hominid from a Spanish cave who lived around 430,000 years ago and was classified as an early type of Neanderthal.
Researchers believe that the Man of Altamura may have belonged to an isolated population of Italian Neanderthals that evolved separately from those in the rest of Eurasia, retaining some more archaic features for an exceptionally long time. The discoveries published in "Quaternary Science Reviews" may provide valuable information about the evolutionary diversity of Neanderthals.
