View source for Biology:Altamura Man

{{Short description|Hominin fossil}}
{{Infobox fossil|catalog number=|image=Altamura man.jpg|species=[[Biology:Neanderthal|Neanderthal]]|age=157,500 years (aged {{circa}} 35)|place discovered=Altamura, Apulia, Italy|date discovered=October 1993|common name=Altamura Man|discovered by=|caption=Altamura Man, surrounded by limestone deposits}} {{maplink|frame=yes|type=point|zoom=9}} The '''Altamura Man''' is a [[Biology:Fossil|fossil]] of the [[Biology:Genus|genus]] ''[[Biology:Homo|Homo]]'' discovered in 1993 in a [[Earth:Karst|karst]] [[Earth:Sinkhole|sinkhole]] in the Lamalunga Cave near the city of Altamura, Italy. Remarkably well preserved but covered in a thick layer of [[Chemistry:Calcite|calcite]] taking the shape of cave popcorn the find was left [[Biology:In situ|in situ]] in order to avoid damage. Research during the following twenty years was based mainly on the documented on-site observations. Consequently, experts remained reluctant to agree on a conclusive age nor was there consensus on the species it belonged to.{{cite needed|date=September 2021}}

Only after a fragment of the right [[Biology:Scapula|scapula]] (shoulder blade) was retrieved was it possible to produce an accurate dating of the individual, an analysis and diagnostic of its morphological features, and a preliminary [[Biology:Paleogenetics|paleogenetic]] characterization. In a 2015 paper published in the ''Journal of Human Evolution,'' it was announced that the fossil was a [[Biology:Neanderthal|Neanderthal]], and dating of the calcite has revealed that the bones are between 128,000 and 187,000 years old.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://phys.org/news/2015-04-altamura-yields-oldest-neanderthal-dna.html  | title= Altamura Man yields oldest Neanderthal DNA sample | publisher= Phys org - Science X network |date=April 3, 2015 | access-date=September 3, 2016  }}</ref>

Altamura Man is one of the most complete [[Earth:Paleolithic|Paleolithic]] skeletons ever to be discovered in Europe as "even the bones inside the nose are still there" and as of 2016 it represents the oldest sample of Neanderthal DNA to have been sequenced successfully.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.visitaltamura.it/website/Altamura_man.htm  | title= Visit Altamura - Man of Altamura | publisher= visit Altamura| access-date=September 3, 2016  }}</ref><ref>Martin Meister, [http://www.geo.de/GEO/kultur/geschichte/436.html?p=1&pageview=&pageview= "Neandertaler: Der verkannte Mensch"]{{Dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''Geo'', 4/01 {{in lang|de}}</ref>

==Discovery==
{{Human timeline}}

The skull was discovered in October 1993 by [[Earth:Speleology|speleologists]] of '''CARS''' (Centro Altamurano Ricerche Speleologiche) in the cave of Lamalunga in Altamura, Italy. While exploring the cave, the researchers stumbled upon a {{convert|10|m|abbr=on}} deep karst sinkhole, formed by the action of running water on limestone. The sinkhole merges into a tunnel about {{convert|60|m|abbr=on}} long in which they found the Altamura Man incorporated into the [[Chemistry:Calcium carbonate|calcium carbonate]] [[Earth:Concretion|concretion]]s that had formed by water dribbling down the cave walls. The finding was reported to researchers at the [[Organization:University of Bari|University of Bari]].<ref>{{Cite web  |url = http://www.turismo.regione.puglia.it/at/35/strutturarurale/2386/en/Lamalunga-Cave-and-Altamura-Man  |title = Cave of Lamalunga and the Altamura man  |publisher = The Official Apulian tourism Website  |access-date = September 3, 2016  |archive-date = March 4, 2016  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041642/http://www.turismo.regione.puglia.it/at/35/strutturarurale/2386/en/Lamalunga-Cave-and-Altamura-Man  |url-status = dead  }}</ref>

==Fossil Morphology & Left In place==
The fossilized skull of a 35-year-old adult male displays the anthropological features of the hypodigm of ''Homo neanderthalensis'' who lived during the Middle-Upper [[Earth:Pleistocene|Pleistocene]] between 170,000 and 130,000 BP. Yet a number of [[Biology:Phenetics|phenetic]] peculiarities exist, such as the shape of the brow ridges, the relative dimension of the [[Medicine:Mastoid part of the temporal bone|mastoids]] and the general architecture of the cranial vault, which according to the research team of the [[Organization:Sapienza University of Rome|Sapienza University of Rome]] support accepted [[Biology:Speciation|speciation]] chronology. "It shows archaic traits, making the Altamura Man a sort of morphological bridge between the previous human species such as ''[[Biology:Homo heidelbergensis|Homo heidelbergensis]]'' and the Neanderthals".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lari|first1=Martina|last2=Di Vincenzo|first2=Fabio|last3=Borsato|first3=Andrea|last4=Ghirotto|first4=Silvia|last5=Micheli|first5=Mario|last6=Balsamo|first6=Carlotta|last7=Collina|first7=Carmine|last8=De Bellis|first8=Gianluca|last9=Frisia|first9=Silvia|last10=Giacobini|first10=Giacomo|last11=Gigli|first11=Elena|year=2015|title=The Neanderthal in the karst: First dating, morphometric, and paleogenetic data on the fossil skeleton from Altamura (Italy)|url=https://flore.unifi.it/bitstream/2158/1002533/2/Lari%20et%20al_JHE_2015.pdf|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=82|pages=88–94|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.007|pmid=25805042|first23=Carles|first21=Donata|last22=Piperno|first22=Marcello|last23=Lalueza-Fox|last25=Caramelli|last24=Barbujani|first24=Guido|first20=Stefania|first25=David|last26=Manzi|first26=Giorgio|hdl=2158/1002533|last21=Venturo|last19=Rizzi|last20=Vai|first19=Ermanno|first18=Oscar|last18=Ramirez|first17=Antonio|last17=Profico|first16=Elena|last16=Pilli|first15=Alessandro|last15=Pietrelli|first14=Alessandra|last14=Modi|first13=Antonella|first12=John C.|last12=Hellstrom|last13=Lannino|s2cid=23113153|hdl-access=free|access-date=2019-09-02|archive-date=2020-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317103112/https://flore.unifi.it/retrieve/handle/2158/1002533/75432/Lari%20et%20al_JHE_2015.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Chronological studies on twenty [[Earth:Fauna|fauna]]l remains retrieved from the Cave Of Lamalunga based on Uranium-thorium dating by Maria Elisabetta Branca and Mario Voltaggio of ''IGAG'' (Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering) and ''CNR'' (Italian National Research Council) in Rome and published in 2010 show a deposition age varying between 45,000 and 17,000 BP. with the majority of remains varying between 45,000 and 30,000 years ago. Accumulation of [[Earth:Speleothem|cave deposits]] were found to begin around 170,000 years ago and ended 17,000 years ago.<ref>{{Cite web |url =http://www.puglia.beniculturali.it/getFile.php?id=522 |title =Studi cronologici eseguiti sulle concrezioni carbonatiche della Grotta di Lamalunga] |publisher =Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici della Puglia |access-date =September 3, 2016 |archive-date =October 1, 2018 |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20181001051355/http://www.puglia.beniculturali.it/getFile.php?id=522 |url-status =dead }}</ref>

===Research Into the Remains===
Researchers associated with the University of Bari have carried out [[Physics:Laser scanning|laser scans]] of the find, obtaining numerical maps, models and [[Engineering:Video|three-dimensional videos]] of the fossil. Results of a study of the DNA sample taken from the scapula determined that it belongs to the genetic variability of the "Neanderthal of Southern Europe".

Between 1998 and 2000, the "Sarastro" project was carried out by Digamma Research Consortium, using integrated tele-operated systems that allowed remote access and observation of the site.<ref>{{Cite web  |url = http://www.carsismo.it/news/Vacca_Pesce_Three_Dimensional_Topographic.pdf  |title = Three-Dimensional Topographic Survey of the Human Remains in Lamalunga Cave (Altamura, Bari, Southern Italy)  |publisher = Department of Zoology, Anthropology Unit, University of Bari  |access-date = September 3, 2016  |archive-date = January 13, 2017  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170113144845/http://www.carsismo.it/news/Vacca_Pesce_Three_Dimensional_Topographic.pdf  |url-status = dead  }}</ref>

More recent research analysis that began in 2009 and based on Uranium-thorium dating revealed that the calcite was formed 172,000 to 130,000 years ago during the penultimate [[Earth:Quaternary|quaternary]] [[Earth:Pleistocene|glaciation]] period.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.archaeology.org/news/3178-150403-italy-altamura-man  | title= Dates Obtained for Italy's Altamura Man | publisher=  Archaeology Magazine | date=April 3, 2015 | access-date=September 3, 2016  }}</ref>

===Remains Left In Place===

The Altamura man remains embedded in a matrix of limestone to this day. As such a running challenge exists among experts to devise a way to remove the fossil intact. The remaining skeleton is in an excellent state of preservation and is unaffected by weather and disarticulation (dispersion of skeletal structure by scavengers), the calcite preserved the bones, but it also covered them to a great extent. It was thought that excavating the remains would cause irreparable damage and thus the bones have remained in situ for decades since their modern discovery.<ref>{{Cite web | url= https://www.researchitaly.it/en/understanding/project-and-success-stories/success-stories/human-evolution-the-most-ancient-dna-of-a-neanderthal-belongs-to-altamura-man/ | title= Human evolution, the most ancient DNA of a Neanderthal belongs to Altamura Man | publisher= Redazione ResearchItaly | date= March 30, 2015 | access-date= September 3, 2016 | archive-date= October 11, 2016 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161011091456/https://www.researchitaly.it/en/understanding/project-and-success-stories/success-stories/human-evolution-the-most-ancient-dna-of-a-neanderthal-belongs-to-altamura-man/ | url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web| url = http://www.altamurgia.it/index.php/articoli/turismocultura/31186| title= Uomo di Altamura, opinione pubblica divisa sul progetto di rimozione del cranio | publisher= Altamurgia  |date=January 30, 2015 |access-date=September 3, 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

* [[Earth:Pulo di Altamura|Pulo di Altamura]]
* [[Biology:Paleoanthropology|Paleoanthropology]]
* [[History:Peștera cu Oase|Peștera cu Oase]]
* [[History:Peștera Muierilor|Peștera Muierilor]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal |pmid=15636069 |year=2004 |last1=Vacca |first1=E |title=Three-dimensional topographic survey of the human remains in Lamalunga cave (Altamura, Bari, southern Italy) |journal=Collegium Antropologicum |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=113–9 |last2=Delfino |first2=V. P. }}
* {{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.12.007 |pmid=21255948 |title=The bodies of two missing children in an enclosed underground environment |journal=Forensic Science International |volume=207 |issue=1–3 |pages=e40–7 |year=2011 |last1=Introna |first1=Francesco |last2=De Donno |first2=Antonio |last3=Santoro |first3=Valeria |last4=Corrado |first4=Simona |last5=Romano |first5=Vito |last6=Porcelli |first6=Francesco |last7=Campobasso |first7=Carlo P. }}
* {{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.007|title=The Neanderthal in the karst: First dating, morphometric, and paleogenetic data on the fossil skeleton from Altamura (Italy)|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|volume=82|pages=88–94|year=2015|last1=Lari|first1=Martina|last2=Di Vincenzo|first2=Fabio|last3=Borsato|first3=Andrea|last4=Ghirotto|first4=Silvia|last5=Micheli|first5=Mario|last6=Balsamo|first6=Carlotta|last7=Collina|first7=Carmine|last8=De Bellis|first8=Gianluca|last9=Frisia|first9=Silvia|last10=Giacobini|first10=Giacomo|last11=Gigli|first11=Elena|last12=Hellstrom|first12=John C.|last13=Lannino|first13=Antonella|last14=Modi|first14=Alessandra|last15=Pietrelli|first15=Alessandro|last16=Pilli|first16=Elena|last17=Profico|first17=Antonio|last18=Ramirez|first18=Oscar|last19=Rizzi|first19=Ermanno|last20=Vai|first20=Stefania|last21=Venturo|first21=Donata|last22=Piperno|first22=Marcello|last23=Lalueza-Fox|first23=Carles|last24=Barbujani|first24=Guido|last25=Caramelli|first25=David|last26=Manzi|first26=Giorgio|pmid=25805042|url=https://iris.unito.it/bitstream/2318/1520161/3/Lari_etal_2015.pdf|hdl=2158/1002533|s2cid=23113153 |hdl-access=free}}
**{{lay source |template=cite web |author=Bob Yirka |date=April 3, 2015 |title=Altamura Man yields oldest Neanderthal DNA sample |url=http://phys.org/news/2015-04-altamura-yields-oldest-neanderthal-dna.html |website=Phys.org}}

{{coord|40.8170|N|16.5500|E|source:wikidata|display=title}}

[[Category:Neanderthal fossils]]

{{Sourceattribution|Altamura Man}}