Researchers have reconstructed a Neanderthal woman's face 75,000 years after her death.
Neanderthals
The female bones were excavated back in 2018 from a cave situated in Iraqi Kurdistan. For several decades, this cave, known as Shanidar Cave, has been acknowledged as a crucial archaeological site for Neanderthals. The cave contains the remains of several of the archaic human species.
Neanderthals, or Homo neanderthalensis, are among human's closest relatives that are extinct. They used to live in Eurasia until they became extinct roughly 40,000 years ago. Across some periods and regions, they coexisted with humans that were anatomically modern. In fact, they even had interbreeding with humans.
Facial Reconstruction of Neanderthal Woman
+scoveredHEAD OF A NEANDERTHAL WOMAN FOUND AT THE SITE OF THE SHANIDAR CAVE IN IRAQ RECONSTRUCTED CNN reports on the... Posted by Museum van de Maastrichtse Mens - Van Neanderthaler tot Karel de Grote on Wednesday, May 1, 2024
The Neanderthal woman's facial reconstruction was shown on a Netflix documentary, Secrets of the Neanderthals, that the BCC Studios science Unit produced. It followed a team of researchers that were led by experts from the University of Cambridge as well as Liverpool John Moores University as they moved back to Shanidar Cave for further investigations.
This facial reconstruction is based on the remains of a woman called "Shanidar Z," whose remains were found in the cave. The remains consisted of a skeleton that spanned nearly down to the waste. It also included the woman's skull. The bone fossils were hardened with a substance that is similar to glue and removed from small cave sediment blocks. It was then wrapped in foil before being sent to the University of Cambridge for further analysis.
The experts were able to reconstruct the woman's skull by piecing over 200 fragments together.
They then scanned the skull in order to produce a digital reconstruction. Moving forward, they then 3D-printed a skull model that was based on its digital version. This became the basis of the head reconstruction, which was made by identical twins and world-leading paleoartists Adrie and Alfons Kennis.
Paleo-anthropologist Emma Pomeroy from the Department of Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, says that the skulls of humans and Neanderthals do not look like each other. The skulls of Neanderthals lack chins and have big brow ridges. They also have a projecting midface that leads to noses that are more prominent.
However, based on the recreated face, it suggests that such differences may not have actually been so start. It could be easier to witness how humans and Neanderthals had interbreeding.
Moreover, new analysis shows that Shanidar Z could have been in her mid 40s, which is quite a significant age to reach at this period of prehistory.
Pomeroy explains that Shanidary would have been a knowledge repository for the group. Now, after 75,000 years, they still get to learn from her. Pomeroy adds that this reconstruction aided in bridging the gap in anatomy and in a timeframe of 75,000 years.
Check out more news and information on Neanderthals in Science Times.
