10,500-Year-Old Face

Scientists have reconstructed the face of a 10,500-year-old woman using DNA. The woman lived in what is now Belgium.

The woman had blue eyes, and her skin was slightly lighter than most other Mesolithic-period people living in Western Europe when compared to the analyses made to date. According to archaeologists, the woman came from the same population group as the Cheddar Man, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom at around the same time. The Cheddar Man had even lighter skin than the woman.

These findings challenge previous assumptions that European hunter-gatherers shared the same genetic makeup. It also demonstrates that even that long ago, there was considerable variation in skin color.

The skull indicated the woman was between 35 and 60 years old. Her nose had a high nasal bridge, similar to Cheddar Man. And she had strong brow ridges despite being female.

The woman’s remains were found in an archaeological dig in 1988-1989 in the Margaux cave in Dinant. The bodies of 8 other women were also found there. This was deemed unusual as most Mesolithic burial sites contain a mixture of men, women, and children. Many of the skeletons were sprinkled with ochre, a pigment made of iron oxide, clay, and silica. Most of the bodies were carefully covered with stone fragments, but one individual had cut marks on her skull that were made after her death.

This burial cave was used over a period of several hundred years, which indicates that it was a place of memory that people would go back to despite their mobile lifestyle. Such findings point to complex burial customs and raise questions about the social structure and cultural practices of this early community.

One archaeologist found the ancient woman’s skin color a bit surprising but indicated there is a limited pool of Mesolithic people to make comparisons. Apparently, all Western Europe individuals who have had their DNA analyzed belong to the same genetic group.

When these remains were first recovered, there was no way to conduct research into ancient DNA. But techniques have been developed since then. The DNA was taken from the woman skull, which allowed a very detailed reconstruction.

The woman’s coloring is based on DNA, while such things as jewelry and tattoos are based on data from other excavations in the River Meuse basin. This data also helped build a picture of her daily life.

At a former campsite on the banks of the river, scientists found stone tools, fish remains, and bones from wild game, which proved these people were nomadic. They were forced to move through the landscape because they were dependent on natural resources such as plants, fish, and wild game.

There are still a lot of questions about these Mesolithic communities, which were the last hunter-gatherers in Western Europe.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/scientists-reconstruct-10-500-year-old-woman-s-face-using-dna/ar-AA1H29cO?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=8bfc0715dd4c4b0f92e756baa7f46623&ei=15