Altamura Man: Neanderthal Nasal Bones Challenge Idea That Big Noses Evolved to Warm Cold Air

Digital analysis of a perfectly preserved Neanderthal nasal cavity questions a long‑standing cold‑adaptation theory

A new digital study of exceptionally intact nasal bones from the Neanderthal skeleton known as "Altamura Man" casts doubt on the idea that Neanderthals evolved broad noses primarily to warm and humidify cold, dry air.

Context and discovery

Speleologists discovered the skeleton in 1993 inside a cave near Altamura in southern Italy. The remains are encased in a thick calcite crust often called "cave popcorn," so researchers have left the specimen in situ to avoid damage. Dating places the individual at roughly 130,000 to 172,000 years old, and the skull is one of the most complete and well‑preserved Neanderthal finds.

New methods — and a unique record

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on Nov. 17, the study uses a "virtual paleoanthropology" approach. Researchers inserted endoscopic cameras into the nasal cavity and produced the first 3D photogrammetric models of fragile internal nasal bones — the ethmoid, vomer and inferior nasal conchae — which have been broken or missing in previously studied Neanderthal skulls.

Key findings

The internal nasal architecture of Altamura Man was not markedly different from that of modern humans. Two of the three anatomical features previously proposed as uniquely Neanderthal were not present in this specimen, suggesting greater intraspecies variation than earlier reconstructions allowed.

Costantino Buzi, lead author and paleoanthropologist at the University of Perugia: "The general shape of the nasal cavity and nasal aperture in Neanderthals follows a quite constant trend... it starts large but gets larger during their evolution."

Todd Rae, paleoanthropologist at the University of Sussex (not involved in the study): "All earlier species of Homo have wide noses, and most Homo sapiens have a wide nose — only northern European/Arctic people are an exception. The Neanderthal nose may not be a unique cold adaptation."

Implications and limits

The results suggest that Neanderthals' broad noses might not be a specific adaptation to cold climates. Instead, broad nasal passages could reflect multiple factors — ancestral facial traits shared across Homo, conditioning of air to meet the metabolic needs of a large-bodied species, and other environmental or physical constraints. However, Buzi and colleagues caution that firm conclusions are limited because Altamura is currently the only Neanderthal specimen with intact internal nasal bones documented in this way.

Conclusion

This study provides rare, direct evidence about internal nasal anatomy in Neanderthals and highlights previously unrecognized variation within the species. While it does not definitively settle why Neanderthals had large noses, it weakens the hypothesis that those noses evolved primarily to warm and humidify cold air and encourages a broader view of facial evolution influenced by multiple factors.

Reference: Buzi et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nov. 17.