MessageToEagle.com – The Man of Altamura is the most ancient Neanderthal ever discovered. The fossilzed skeleton was found in 1993 in the karstic cave of Lamalunga, near the town of Altamura in Puglia.
Based on portions of genetic material DNA extracted from the skeleton, scientists estimate the man lived around 150,000 years ago. But what did the Altamura man look like?
To answer the question, a pair of Dutch artists specializing in paleontological reconstructions created a life-size version of the Man of Altamura.
The so-called Man of Altamura was of stocky build, about 1.65 meters tall, had a jutting brow, a wide pelvis, an elongated cranium and a very big nose, according to the reconstruction by Adrie and Alfons Kennis.
The Man of Altamura died under most sad circumstances. He fell in a well and remained trapped there, dying of starvation or from lack of water intake. The skeleton was then covered with droplets of limestone that helped preserve it for millennia.
His species inhabited Europe between 200,000 and 40,000 years ago.
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