Facial reconstruction of Stone Age Belgian woman reveals she had dark complexion
The prehistoric woman's fossil remains were unearthed in 1988 in the Margaux cave near Dinant.
Previous studies suggest she lived in the Meuse Valley around 10,500 years ago and belonged to the same Western European hunter-gatherer population as Britain's famous Cheddar Man.
Now, genetic and archaeological data assessed by Belgium's Ghent University have made it possible to reconstruct not only her face, but also her living conditions.
An interdisciplinary team of scientists, including archaeologists, anthropologists, and geneticists, collaborated with Dutch artists on the facial reconstruction.
The facial reconstruction, part of the university's Regional Outlook on Ancient Migration (ROAM) project, reveals that the Margaux woman had a dark complexion and blue eyes, just like Cheddar Man, who is Britain's oldest modern human specimen unearthed to date.
A 2018 DNA analysis of his remains found he had blue eyes and dark skin, revealing unprecedented insights into the appearance of ancient Britons and that we all 'come from somewhere in Africa'.
The Cheddar Man fossil, discovered in a Somerset cave in 1903, revealed that the ancient Briton had 'dark to black' skin, blue eyes and dark, curly hair.
The latest findings hint that the Margaux woman had slightly lighter skin than most other Stone Age people analysed in Western Europe to date, which researchers say is a 'subtle but important detail'.
Scientists deduced the Stone Age woman's potential eye and skin colours based on analysis of DNA extracted from parts of her skull.
'Until now, the phenotypic diversity among European hunter-gatherers was only known from a small number of fossils and was thought to be fairly homogeneous,' geneticist Maïté Rivollat said in a statement.
"The skin pigmentation of the Margaux woman points to greater complexity of skin pigmentation within these populations and that it was more heterogeneous than previously thought,' project leader Isabelle De Groote told Live Science.
The latest research also suggests that the Margaux woman's life was spent mostly outdoors. based on remains of shells, pigments, and other tools found at the cave site.
However, scientists say further research is needed to discern further clues about her lifestyle and appearance.
"Actual skin tone and eye colour is difficult to discern...There is no exact answer in ancient DNA,' De Groote said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Rare ceremonial heads discovered in Peru shed light on 'Warriors of the Clouds'
CHACHAPOYAS, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Archaeologists in Peru's Amazon region have uncovered two rare, 1,000-year-old ceremonial stone club heads along with roughly 200 ancient structures and a unique zigzag frieze. The discoveries were made at the Ollape site in the Amazonian district of La Jalca in an area where the Chachapoyas civilization, or "Warriors of the Clouds," developed between 900 and 1,450 A.D. According to lead archaeologist Pablo Solis, these findings offer a new understanding of the less-studied society that inhabited the area. The intricately crafted club heads are believed to have held ceremonial significance, hinting at ritual practices of a society whose cultural footprint remains largely unexplored. The intricate zigzag pattern is the first of its kind to be found in the region, and the number of structures suggests Ollape was an important ceremonial and residential hub. Peru is rich in archaeological discoveries, with researchers frequently uncovering ancient remains. The country is home to numerous historical sites, including the famous Machu Picchu in the Andean highlands of Cusco and the mysterious Nazca lines etched into the desert along the coast.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
In pictures: 8th Century monastery dig in Cookham
Archaeology students have been uncovering evidence of early end-of-life care during excavations at an 8th Century and staff from the University of Reading have been taking part in an annual dig at the site in Cookham, year Thomas Hayes, director of the university's field school, said they had found evidence of illness and treatment in human remains, including bedsores, suggesting palliative care may have taken Sophia Mills, a forensic archaeology expert at the university, said it had been a "very delicate process" as "these individuals have not chosen to be excavated and so we are being as respectful as we can be and very, very careful". You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Small plain offers big rewards
Backed by the Wuling Mountains and overlooking Dongting Lake, Liyang Plain in the northwestern part of Central China's Hunan province is not particularly prominent among the country's plains. It spans 270 square miles, making it incomparable to vast landmasses such as the North China Plain with an area of 115,830 square miles. But its significance stems from archaeological perspective. It's home to many prehistoric settlement sites, yielding one of the earliest cities, one of the earliest rice paddy fields and clues for the origins of rice-based agriculture in China. Since the 1980s, archaeologists have discovered 392 prehistoric cultural sites on this land, with a continuous time sequence from 500,000 to 4,000 years ago. The density and chronological continuity of these prehistoric sites are unparalleled in the history of Chinese archaeology, says Zhou Hua, deputy director of the archaeological research and cultural relics protection centre of Lixian county, Hunan, where the major part of Liyang Plain is located. The large number of sites poses a big challenge to their protection, prompting professionals to employ different strategies to protect and bring them back to life. A remarkable one is the Bashidang site in Lixian, a settlement site from 10,000 to 8,000 years ago. Covering 516,670 square feet, it is a relatively small-sized site on the plain. Because it boasts significant academic value, people highlight its protection and integrate it carefully with local people's daily life. In the 1990s, the site yielded 9,800 seeds and husks, a great number at the time, signifying an origin of rice-based agriculture. It also yielded pottery vessels from the transitional period between Paleolithic and Neolithic periods, shedding light on the important time in academic studies. Now, the site has been built into a park, with most of its area backfilled with rice being planted by local farmers, continuing its role as farmland from thousands of years ago. 'Such plantings do not harm the site since the crops don't take deep roots. Therefore, we can see people have planted crops on this land for such a long time without destroying it. With limited funds, this is the best way we can balance protection and local people's life,' says Zhou, who adds that many other sites of a similar scale on the plain are protected in this way. According to Cao Yi, deputy director of Lixian's culture, tourism, radio, television and sports bureau, they have taken measures that can benefit local people as well. For example, they built roads and bridges in the site to facilitate the transportation, so that the site area has a better environment and farmers can farm more conveniently. About 12 miles from Bashidang lies the Chengtoushan site which covers about 2 million square feet and has been protected and developed through a different approach. 'If the protection of Bashidang is to combine it with villagers' life, our work to protect and promote Chengtoushan lies mainly in building its brand in local cultural tourism so as to drive other local industries,' says Cao. Dating back 6,500 to 3,800 years, Chengtoushan was one of the earliest cities ever discovered in China, which yielded an ancient paddy field from 6,500 years ago. 'Besides the paddy field, we also found carbonised rice and irrigation facilities, showing a mature agricultural system. Therefore, we infer that ancient people living in Chengtoushan led a relatively stable farming life, different from the earlier lifestyle of hunting and gathering,' says Zhou. A Chengtoushan national archaeological site park has been built at the cost of 600 million yuan (£62.9 million), keeping the original layout, covering 109.06 acres, with a museum showcasing highlighted cultural artifacts from the site. Zhou says based on features of the site, they have designed many activities for tourists. For example, they offer people a chance to try their hand at archaeological excavation in the neighbouring areas of the site. People can also plant rice in spring and autumn and catch fish. They can learn how to make pottery vessels which ancient people also worked on, and row a boat on the river surrounding the settlement.
