Three-dimensional topographic survey of the human remains in Lamalunga cave (Altamura, Bari, southern Italy).

The aim of the Research Unit, in the framework of the "Programma Nazionale di Ricerca - MURST (Ministero dell'Universita e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica) 1998-2000", was to study human fossil remains and sites of paleoanthropological interest; the observations regard sites and remains found principally in Apulia, amongst which, the Lamalunga Cave - Altamura. The results of the survey phases of the cave and the three-dimensional topographic distribution of the human remains are reported. Three-dimensional spatial coordinates describing the collocation of the skeleton were sampled. These points were used as reference points for the spatial positioning of numerical models reproducing elements of an adult male skeleton. The survey allows the interactive observation of the remains and their relationship with the site, so that the remains can be observed from points of view actually impossible. On the basis of such views, it was possible to better deduce the relationship between the skeletal elements, confirming the hypothesis that the skeletonization phenomenon occurred in the actual site where the remains are now found.