A Mesolithic woman surprised descendants: scientists recreated the face of a European woman more than 10,000 years old
20 June 21:41
Belgian archaeologists have reconstructed the face of a prehistoric woman who lived approximately 10,500 years ago, and the result has upset the established ideas about the appearance of the inhabitants of Mesolithic Europe, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The discovery was based on DNA taken from a skull that was discovered in the late 1980s in the Margot Cave, near the Belgian city of Dinan. Together with her, the remains of eight other women were buried there, an exceptional situation, as mixed burials were more common at that time.
The scientific discovery was reported by a team from Ghent University in an interview with CNN.
“The DNA sample turned out to be of high quality, which is enough for a detailed reconstruction of the appearance,” said archaeologist Philippe Crombe.
According to him, the woman was between 35 and 60 years old, and her face was accurately recreated using modern technology.
The biggest discovery was the unexpected skin color. The woman had blue eyes and lighter skin than was considered typical for hunter-gatherers in Western Europe at the time. Until now, scientists have assumed that Mesolithic populations were more homogeneous in genetic composition, but the new data show genetic and phenotypic diversity already more than 10,000 years ago.
“It’s a bit unexpected,” admits Crombe, “but we currently have very limited comparative material from that period, so these findings are particularly valuable.
The fact that all the remains of people from that era that have been studied so far belonged to the same genetic group does not negate the variability in appearance. This opens up new directions in the study of the evolution of the appearance of Europeans, in particular, the appearance of features that we traditionally associate with the modern population.
The facial reconstruction was performed by Kennis & Kennis, a team known for its collaboration with museums and scientific institutions around the world.
