56,000-Year-Old Neanderthal Looks Like Modern Human in Expert’s Digital Facial Reconstruction

Neanderthals look similar to humans and appear better than previous facial reconstructions. A Brazilian graphic expert recently shared how a Neanderthal dubbed "old man" looked when he was alive.

Handsome Neanderthal

A skull reportedly from a Neanderthal was discovered by a priest inside a cave in La Chapelle-aux-Saints. The man was believed to have lived for about 40 years, between 47,000 and 56,000 years ago.

After 115 years, forensic artist Cícero Moraes used computed tomography (CT) scans to recreate the older man's face. He derived measurements based on a human skull taken from a donor database along the Frankfort horizontal plane, a line that runs from the top of the ear hole to the bottom of the eye socket. It provided the structure needed by the researchers to create the face shape.

Next, the skin and muscles were digitally constructed using soft-tissue thickness markers from living human donors. They then added characteristics, such as color to the skin and hair, to the approximation to make it more realistic. The research didn't make it apparent whether these hues were determined by informed guesswork or by a DNA examination.

Moraes said they generated two images. One was more objective, with just the bust in a sepia tone. In the said snap, the older man is bald. However, the second image was more speculative and colorful, with the older man rocking a thick beard and hair.

The artist stressed that the photo showed how similar Neanderthals were to modern humans. However, he also acknowledged blatant differences, including lacking a chin.

When asked if the Neanderthal was handsome, Moraes seemingly agreed, pointing out that "this (Neanderthal) is the second approximation that the people 'fall in love."

According to Linda Hall Library, an independent science research library in Kansas City, Missouri, the previous reconstructions of Neanderthals were exaggeratedly ape-like, like the 1909 artwork by Czech painter František Kupka and the hunched-over skeleton created by French paleontologist and anthropologist Marcellin Boule.

Individuals With Neanderthal Genes at Risk of Deadly COVID

Neanderthals were species that lived alongside humans thousands of years ago. Although they shared the same appearance and size as humans, they were more muscular. However, they became extinct 40,000 years ago.

There were various theories about their disappearance. There were claims that their demise was due to climate change. Some claimed that it was probably the competition for resources or Homo sapiens' aggression. Additionally, some speculated they disappeared because they interbred with humans.

There's as much as three percent of Neanderthal DNA in humans living in Europe and Asia. However, according to a recent study, those with Neanderthal genes are likely to develop the deadly form of COVID-19.

Researchers discovered that severe cases of COVID-19 occurred in 33% of Bergamo residents with the Neanderthal haplotype. The study decided to select samples from Bergamo because there were severe fatalities of coronavirus cases in the area, and 75% of the subjects were born there.

Neanderthal genes are also linked to health problems like an increased risk of Viking Disease.

Check out more news and information on Neanderthals in Science Times.