Editor’s Note
Advances in scientific analysis are allowing researchers to reconstruct the faces and appearances of historical figures with remarkable accuracy, turning skeletal remains and artifacts into vivid portraits that bridge the gap between past and present.
New scientific techniques are helping us reconstruct people from the past in uncanny detail. People from the past have left behind a treasure trove of clues about their lives — from enormous monuments to fragments of personal items, as well as the bones of the people themselves. But the people who left these clues are often a mystery. Now, thanks to modern scientific techniques and technology, researchers can accurately reconstruct what those people actually looked like, helping to bring long-dead people from history back to life. Here, we take a look at some of the best reconstructions.
Researchers reconstructed the face, shield and weapons of a warrior who lived 4,000 years ago in what is now Siberia. Researchers who examined the late Stone Age man’s remains estimate that during his lifetime, the warrior stood about 5 feet, 5 inches (165 centimeters) tall. He died between the ages of 40 and 50, a relatively advanced age for the late Stone Age. Healed injuries on the man’s skeleton suggest his lifestyle was active and combative, which would explain the arrowheads and shield found in his burial.
This stunning reconstruction shows a 17th-century woman with piercing eyes. Her skeleton was found with a sickle over her neck and a padlock around her big toe — a sign that villagers in Pien, Poland likely thought she was a vampire that could reanimate after death. Analyses of her clothes and remains revealed that this woman came from a wealthy family, but she wasn’t local and was likely very ill. A chemical analysis of her remains suggests she came from Scandinavia and an anatomical examination showed she had several health conditions, including a painful cancer in her sternum.
Feathers adorn the reconstruction of this Stone Age individual — known as the Margaux woman — who lived about 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium. She would have been part of a hunter-gatherer group. Margaux woman likely had blue or light eyes and a “medium-toned” skin complexion, a DNA analysis found. Her skin tone is surprising, as most Europeans from this time, including Cheddar Man, had dark skin.
Swedish sculptor Oscar Nilsson reconstructed the face of an 18-year-old woman, dubbed Avgi, by applying clay muscles and silicone “skin” to a plastic 3D-printed skull based on scans of the original, 9,000-year-old bones.
