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The KARST project

Rediscovering Altamura: advanced multidisciplinary investigations on the skeleton from the Lamalunga cave, Italy. The KARST project (Knowing the Altamura man thRough Science & Technology)

The paleoanthropological specimen referred to as "Altamura man", discovered in 1993 within the Lamalunga karst system, near the town of Altamura (Puglia, Italy), might well be the most complete Neanderthal specimen ever discovered and represents the most ancient Neanderthal from which endogenous DNA has been extracted.

The present project aims to carry out a complete multidisciplinary survey on the specimen, including chronology, skeletal biology, taphonomy, evolutionary history and ecology. The project will be co-directed with the Soprintendenza .Archeologia della Puglia and in agreement with the Municipality of Altamura.

The work will progress across time (a time schedule is furnished), distinguished in three main “phases”:

1)site-based analyses;

2) lab-based analyses;

3) conservation.

The project aims also at creating ideal conditions for the preservation and future musealization of the Altamura skeleton.

Project duration: October 2016 - September 2020
Project status:
Funding:
PRIN (National funding /Project)
Institute: Institute for Mummy Studies

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antropology genetics conservation technologies

Scientific Publications

Journal article2024

Temperature fluctuations and ventilation dynamics induced by atmospheric pressure variations in Lamalunga Cave (Apulia, Italy) and their influences on speleothem growth

Borsato A, Samadelli M, Martimucci V, Manzi G

Marco Samadelli

Lamalunga Cave (Altamura, Southern Italy) is renowned for the discovery in 1993 of an excellently preserved Neanderthal skeleton. Given the importance of the findings and the potential use of Lamalunga speleothems for paleoclimate reconstructions, a detailed monitoring program was undertaken to investigate the connections between microclimate parameters and speleothem growth. The cave air temperature is characterized by annual sinusoidal cycles with increasing phase shift and decreasing thermal amplitude from ± 2.1°C to ± 0.04°C as a function of increasing rock overburden, and daily to sub-daily cycles induced by surface air pressure (SAP) variations characterized by strong 24-hour and 12-hour solar harmonic frequencies, with thermal amplitude decreasing from 0.0054°C to 0.0021°C in the deeper parts of the cave. The ventilation regime is mainly controlled by SAP fluctuations. Fast SAP rises can trigger “emptying events” during which most of the cave air is replaced and the CO2 concentration falls towards near-atmospheric values. The steady and gentle ventilation created by SAP fluctuations also influences the growth and morphology of calcite coralloids, with larger popcorn assemblages concentrated in the northern galleries and delicate branching morphologies prevailing along the South Gallery where stable temperature and relative humidity conditions occur. The study is a seminal example of how high-precision measurements of cave air temperature can provide a wealth of information on cave ventilation and thermal regime and provide valuable support for robust paleoclimate reconstruction from speleothems.

DOI

DOI: 10.1017/qua.2023.70

Journal article2024

Virtual paleoanthropology in karstic environments. The challenging case of the Neanderthal skeleton from Altamura (southern Italy)

Buzi C, Boggioni M, Borsato A, Boschian G, Marchi D, Moggi-Cecchi J, Profico A, Riga A,

Marco Samadelli

The so-called “Altamura Man” is a Neanderthal skeleton found in 1993 in the Lamalunga karstic system (southern Italy). The skeleton, dated between 172 and 130 ka, still lies deep within a spectacular cave setting, partly embedded within speleothems and extensively covered by coralloid concretions. These peculiar location and conditions would entail major difficulties in excavating and preserving ex-situ this skeleton. Moreover, a decision-making impasse among the institutions involved complicates the problem. Yet, this specimen is one of the best preserved human fossils known. From 2016 to 2020 we conducted extensive in situ investigations of the specimen. Digital techniques and equipment specifically designed for or adapted to the difficult underground context were used in carrying out the most detailed assessment possible of the skeleton. The data thus collected provide an insight into human evolution in Europe, and a first glance at the amount of information this amazing specimen could provide. In this contribution, we want to update the information on the problematic context of Lamalunga, and address the innovative solutions put in place in 2016–2020 to study and preserve the Neanderthal skeleton in this fragile environment.

DOI

DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108833

Journal article2023

Virtual excavation and analysis of the early Neanderthal cranium from Altamura (Italy)

Profico A, Buzi C, Di Vincenzo F, Boggioni M, Borsato A, Boschian G, Marchi D, Micheli M,

Marco Samadelli

Complete Neanderthal skeletons are almost unique findings. A very well-preserved specimen of this kind was discovered in 1993 in the deepest recesses of a karstic system near the town of Altamura in Southern Italy. We present here a detailed description of the cranium, after we virtually extracted it from the surrounding stalagmites and stalactites. The morphology of the Altamura cranium fits within the Neanderthal variability, though it retains features occurring in more archaic European samples. Some of these features were never observed in Homo neanderthalensis, i.e. in fossil specimens dated between 300 and 40 ka. Considering the U-Th age we previously obtained (>130 ka), the morphology of Altamura suggests that the archaic traits it retains may have been originated by geographic isolation of the early Neanderthal populations from Southern Italy.

DOI

DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04644-1

All Publications

Virtual paleoanthropology in karstic environments. The challenging case of the Neanderthal skeleton from Altamura (southern Italy)
Buzi C, Boggioni M, Borsato A, Boschian G, Marchi D, Moggi-Cecchi J, Profico A, Riga A, Samadelli M, Manzi G (2024)
Journal article
Quaternary Science Reviews

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108833

Temperature fluctuations and ventilation dynamics induced by atmospheric pressure variations in Lamalunga Cave (Apulia, Italy) and their influences on speleothem growth
Borsato A, Samadelli M, Martimucci V, Manzi G (2024)
Journal article
Quaternary Research: An Interdisciplinary Journal

https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2023.70

Virtual excavation and analysis of the early Neanderthal cranium from Altamura (Italy)
Profico A, Buzi C, Di Vincenzo F, Boggioni M, Borsato A, Boschian G, Marchi D, Micheli M, Moggi Cecchi J, Samadelli M, Tafuri MA, Arsuaga JL, Manzi G (2023)
Journal article
Communications Biology

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-04644-1

Our partners

Universitá degli Studi di Pisa

University of Rome Sapienza

Università degli Studi di Firenze

Project Team

Marco Samadelli

Albert Zink

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Journal article2024

Temperature fluctuations and ventilation dynamics induced by atmospheric pressure variations in Lamalunga Cave (Apulia, Italy) and their influences on speleothem growth

Borsato A, Samadelli M, Martimucci V, Manzi G

Marco Samadelli

DOI

DOI: 10.1017/qua.2023.70

The KARST project