Stunningly Well-Preserved Neanderthal Skull Suggests the Species’ Large Noses Weren’t Adapted for the Cold

A new study analyzes the nasal cavity of the “Altamura Man,” a Neanderthal who died between 130,000 and 172,000 years ago

Sarah Kuta | Daily Correspondent

November 25, 2025

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Neanderthals had a distinctive appearance. Before they died out roughly 40,000 years ago, Homo sapiens’ closest-known relatives had stocky builds, short limbs, large noses and protruding upper jaws.

For years, archaeologists have speculated that these unique physiological features were adaptations that helped Neanderthals survive in cold weather. But new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences complicates that theory.

For the first time, scientists have peered inside a fossilized Neanderthal skull to study the delicate bones of the nasal cavity. Their analysis suggests Neanderthals’ large noses and unique facial shape did not evolve purely to help them breathe in dry, cold air. Instead, these traits were likely influenced by other factors, such as the species’ overall body size.

“The study challenges a long-held idea about Neanderthal evolution and provides the first direct evidence of how their breathing system actually looked and functioned,” Ludovic Slimak, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Toulouse in France who was not involved in the research, tells New Scientist’s Chris Simms.

Some researchers have argued that if Neanderthal faces evolved as a cold-climate adaptation, then their noses should contain special internal structures to help warm and moisten incoming air. More specifically, they hypothesized that Neanderthals had three nasal adaptations: a vertically oriented medial projection, a medial swelling on the nasal cavity wall and the lack of a calcified roof over the lacrimal groove. But proving this theory has been difficult because the nasal cavities of most fossilized Neanderthal skulls are damaged or missing.

However, one fossilized Neanderthal specimen does have a well-preserved nasal cavity: the “Altamura Man,” discovered in 1993 in a cave in southern Italy. The Altamura Man is “potentially the most completely human fossil skeleton ever discovered,” says study co-author Giorgio Manzi, an anthropologist at Sapienza University of Rome, in a statement. “It continues providing us with unprecedented information.”

The Neanderthal’s bones, which are between 130,000 and 172,000 years old, are embedded in rock and covered in popcorn-like calcite deposits, so the Altamura Man cannot be moved. To work around this limitation, scientists brought their equipment right into the cave.

Researchers inserted an endoscope into the Altamura Man’s skull, then used it to take videos of the nasal cavity. From the footage, they were able to create a detailed digital model of the Neanderthal’s nose bones.

When the team took a closer look at the nasal cavity, they didn’t find any of the hypothesized adaptations to the cold. Instead, they determined that the inner nasal structures were “neither unique nor substantially different from those of modern humans,” writes Live Science’s Kristina Killgrove.

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The Altamura Man is just one individual, so it’s possible he was an outlier—and that other Neanderthals had different inner nasal features. However, this intraspecies variation will be difficult to prove unless archaeologists can find additional well-preserved Neanderthal skulls.

Even without the previously theorized nasal adaptations, the Neanderthal nose apparently functioned just fine in the cold. The species survived for approximately 360,000 years—through multiple cold, dry periods—before mysteriously disappearing, likely due to climate change and increased competition from Homo sapiens.

“By looking at the interior portion of the nose, we can see that Neanderthals had their own solution for adapting airflow for the cold climate,” lead author Costantino Buzi, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Perugia, tells IFLScience’s Benjamin Taub.

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Sarah Kuta is a writer and editor based in Longmont, Colorado. She covers history, science, travel, food and beverage, sustainability, economics and other topics.