Deep in a cave in southern Italy, an atypical Neanderthal was stuck upside down for about 150,000 years. Called Altamura Man, this is the most complete Neanderthal skeleton ever discovered and could help clear up some mysteries about our evolution as a species.
The inverted skull of this strange specimen was first observed protruding from a wall in the Lamalunga karst system near Altamura in 1993. Immediately, researchers were struck by the unusual orientation and bizarre appearance of the skeleton, caused by the accumulation of lumps of calcite, also known as “cave popcorn” on the surface of the skull.
Unfortunately, however, the most complete Neanderthal skeleton has completely fused with the surrounding rocks, leaving Altamura Man sealed in his natural tomb. Summarizing the frustrating plight of this ancient hominid, the authors of a new study explain that the skeleton “still lies deep within a spectacular cave setting, partially embedded in speleothems and extensively covered by coralloid concretions.”
The most complete Neanderthal skeleton, locked away forever
“This location and existing conditions would imply major difficulties in excavating and ex situ preserving this skeleton,” they add. Unable to get him out of his cave prison and into a lab, researchers were unable to study this intriguing individual for decades, although uranium-thorium dating revealed he was between 130,000 and 172,000 years old , writes IFL Science.
By 2015, scientists were finally able to recover some fragments of the skeleton’s shoulder blade for DNA analysis, confirming that Altamura Man was indeed a Neanderthal. To gain more information, the authors of the new study spent the next four years conducting research in the cave, using portable X-ray machines, high-resolution endoscopic cameras and miniature laser scanners that could pass through small openings in the rock wall.
Who was the Man from Altamura?
The combined results of these studies revealed that Altamura Man was a “full-grown Neanderthal who suffered from several common dental pathologies,” leaving him without several teeth. More significantly, however, a digital reconstruction of the skull demonstrated that the skeleton had a number of morphological features not previously seen in “classical Neanderthals”. For example, the skull showed similarities to that of an older hominid that lived in a Spanish cave about 430,000 years ago and was classified as an early type of Neanderthal. In other ways, however, the Altamura Man was more like other members of his species.
Based on this mix of features, the researchers believe that Altamura Man probably belonged to an isolated population of Italian Neanderthals that evolved separately from those in other parts of Eurasia and that retained some of their more archaic traits for an exceptionally long time. long. Speaking of exceptionally long periods of time, it is believed that this individual probably died after falling into a sinkhole and becoming stuck in a crevasse, where he has remained ever since and is likely to remain forever.
The study is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
