Humans first evolved in Africa, where much of the evolution occurred. Most of the fossils of ancient humans who lived between six and two million years ago come from the continent of Africa.
Through modern technology, humanity was able to learn how early humans lived and how it contributed to the evolution of humans. Although the 2018 discovery by archaeologists of how a Stone Age man's head was placed on a spike may never become known to the world, people today will be able to see his face thanks to the power of 3D facial reconstruction.
A forensic artist used that technology to reveal the man's face by putting together the features on the 8,000-year-old jawless skull to show a man with a pointy nose, large forehead, and a long beard. Many of its features were based on factors from the Stone Age, like his clothing.
On the other hand, the facial muscles and skin were formed using different factors such as his weight, height, and ethnicity.
Stone Age Jawless Skulls Found Under a Prehistoric Lake
The man's skull was one of the 12 others found under a prehistoric lake in Sweden, in which they found at least twelve adults and one infant. Experts believe that the group may have been murdered during an ancient ritual.
The bodies were put on top of a densely packed layer of large stones that serve as an underwater burial between 7,500 and 8,500 years ago.
The discovery was made from researchers at Stockholm University and Sweden's Cultural Heritage Foundation (CHF) in 2018. It is the first evidence that hunter-gatherers in Stone Age displayed heads on wooden spikes.
Lead researcher Dr. Fredrik Hallgren, from CHF, told LiveScience that the skulls are an example of a very complex ritual that is very structured, and even though modern humans are not able to decipher the meaning of it, humans can still appreciate the ritual's complexity of these prehistoric hunter-gatherers.
Other than the uncovered group, archaeologists also found remains from various animals, including brown bears, wild boars, red deer, moose, and roe deer.
The mystery of their tragic death might forever be unknown, but a Sweden-based forensic artist named Oscar Nilsson has shown what the ancient man from the Stone Age might have looked like.
Read also: Two 1,500-Year Old Bones of "Warrior Women" that may have Inspired 'Mulan' Found
3D Reconstructed Face of the Man From Stone Age
According to LiveScience, Nilsson took a computer tomography scan of the skull and printed a 3D replica in vinyl plastic. But since the skull has a missing jaw, he had to measure where it once was in order to reconstruct it to form the whole face.
Although there was no evidence of what he wore during his time, Nilsson took the initiative to make choices on the wardrobe and haircut based on items found in the grave.
"He wears the skin from a wild boar," Nilsson said. "We can see from how the human skulls and animal jaws were found that they clearly meant a big deal in their cultural and religious beliefs," he added.
Moreover, Nilsson reconstructed the man's hair to be short, with a longer portion pulled back in a small ponytail. Nilsson also added that the white chalk decorating the man's chest is a piece of artistic license, inspired by the Indigenous groups today who use chalk for body paint.
