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The KARST project

Riscoprire Altamura: indagini multidisciplinari avanzate sullo scheletro dalla grotta di Lamalunga, Italia. Il progetto KARST (Knowing the Altamura man thRough Science & Technology)

I campioni paleoantropologici indicati come "Uomo di Altamura", scoperti nel 1993, all'interno del complesso carsico di Lamalunga, vicino alla città di Altamura (Puglia, Italia), potrebbero rappresentare l'esemplare più completo di Neanderthal mai scoperto. Esso rappresenta il più antico Neanderthal da cui sia stato estratto DNA endogeno.

Il presente progetto si propone di effettuare un'indagine multidisciplinare completa sul campione, tra cui la cronologia, la biologia scheletrica, tafonomia, storia evolutiva e l'ecologia. Il progetto sarà co-diretto con la Soprintendenza ai Beni Archeologici della Puglia e in collaborazione con il Comune di Altamura.

le operazioni sono cosi programmate (da un calendario stabilito) e si suddivideranno in tre principali "fasi":

1) analisi sul sito di ritrovamento;

2) analisi di laboratorio;

3) la conservazione.

Il progetto mira anche a creare le condizioni ideali per la conservazione e la musealizzazione futura dello scheletro di Altamura.

Project duration: October 2016 - September 2020
Project status:
Funding:
PRIN (National funding /Project)
Institute: Istituto per lo studio delle mummie

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antropologia genetica tecniche di conservazione

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)
Articolo su rivista
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)
Articolo su rivista
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)
Articolo su rivista
Communications Biology

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

Our partners

Universitá degli Studi di Pisa

Università degli Studi di Roma Sapienza

Università degli Studi di Firenze

Project Team

Marco Samadelli

Albert Zink

Technical
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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