Paleontologists Unearth Bone-Chilling Mystery in Historic Neanderthal Discovery

One of the most complete and well-preserved Neanderthal skeletons ever found is Altamura Man. Yet, his petrified remains, which are buried at the bottom of a sinkhole close to the southern Italian town of Altamura, have remained inaccessible. It was there, more than 130,000 years ago, that he collapsed and starved to death. A human skull encased in a thick layer of calcite formations was discovered in 1993 by a party of cave explorers in southern Italy. The remains are found in a location known as a karst borehole, where the growth of stalactites was aided by the presence of running water and limestone. For two decades, scientists did not attempt to extract the bones for fear of causing permanent damage. Because of this, archaeologists were only able to speculate about the person they called “Altamura Man.“ Yet subsequent discoveries have revealed significantly more data than scientists had previously anticipated, rewriting important facts about this cave-dweller. CHAPTERS: 0