- By Jonathan Amos, Rebecca Morrell and Alison Francis
- bbc science news
image Source, BBC Studios/Jamie Simmonds
What would it be like to physically meet our closest human relatives from 75,000 years ago?
Scientists have created a remarkable reconstruction of what a Neanderthal woman might have looked like when she was alive.
It is based on the flattened, broken remains of a skull whose bones were so soft when excavated that they had the consistency of a “well-dipped biscuit”.
The researchers had to strengthen the pieces before reassembling them.
After this, expert archaeological artists made a 3D model.
This representation appears in a new documentary from BBC Studios for Netflix called Secrets of the Neanderthals, which examines what we know about our long-lost evolutionary cousins, Which became extinct about 40,000 years ago.
The sculpture shows one face of these people.
“I think she can help us learn who they were,” said Dr. Emma Pomeroy, archaeologist on the project at the University of Cambridge.
“It’s really extremely exciting and a huge privilege to be able to work with the remains of any person, but especially with someone as special as him,” he told BBC News.
image Source, BBC Studios/Jamie Simmonds
The skull on which this model is based was found in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. It is an iconic site where the remains of at least 10 Neanderthal men, women and children were found in the 1950s.
When a British group was invited back by Kurdish authorities in 2015, they soon found a new skeleton – dubbed Shanidar Jade – that included most of the individual’s upper body, including the spine, shoulders, arms and hands.
The skull was also largely present, but crushed into a 2 cm (0.7 in) thick layer, probably by a rock that had fallen from the ceiling of the cave at some time in the distant past.
“The skull was basically flat, like a pizza,” said Cambridge professor Graeme Barker, who led the new excavations at Shanidar.
“Going beyond what you see now is a remarkable journey. As an archaeologist, you can sometimes be blasé about what you’re doing. But occasionally you’re struck by the fact that You’re touching the past. We forget how extraordinary it is.”
image Source, graeme barker
With permission from the local Antiquities Department, the skull fragments were brought to the UK in blocks of sediment to begin the laborious process of freeing them, stabilizing them and then putting them back together.
It took archeological conservators more than a year to complete the complex puzzle.
The constructed skull was then surface scanned and given a 3D print to Dutch artists Adri and Alphonse Kenis, who are renowned for their skill in creating physically faithful representations of ancient people from their bones and fossil remains.
But as interesting as the sculpture is, with its contemplative expression, it is the original skeleton that holds the real value.
The team is pretty sure “she’s a woman”.
Pelvic bones would aid in determination but they were not recovered from the upper part of the body.
Instead the researchers relied on certain key proteins found in tooth enamel that are linked to female genetics. The skeleton’s diminutive stature also supports the interpretation.
How old? He probably died in his mid-40s, indicated by his teeth which are worn away almost to the root.
“As the teeth wear out, chewing is no longer as effective as it used to be – so she can’t eat properly,” Dr. Pomeroy said.
“We found some other signs of poor dental health – some infection, some gum disease as well. By this time, I think she was approaching the natural end of life.”
For a long time, scientists considered Neanderthals to be brutal and unsophisticated compared to our species.
But that view has changed since Shanidar’s discoveries.
This cave is famous for displaying some form of burial practice. The bodies were carefully placed in a drain next to a high rock pillar. All the dead shared a similar trend in the way they were laid out.
image Source, BBC/Gwyndaff Hughes
Pollen present in one skeleton has led some to argue that these Neanderthals were probably surrounded by flowers, perhaps indicating spiritual awakening, even religion.
But the British team believes it is more likely that the pollen was released later by burrowing bees, or perhaps from branches of flowers that were placed over the body.
“Not because of the flowers on the branches, but because the branches themselves could have prevented hyenas from getting to the body,” said Professor Chris Hunt of Liverpool John Moores University.
“I would hesitate to use the word ‘burial’; I think I would use the word ‘placement’ to move away from the idea of the clergy and the church. But there is no doubt that they have maintained this tradition “Put it where you are, grandma.”
Mystery of the Neanderthal arrives on the Netflix streaming platform globally on Thursday.
Additional reporting by Gwyndaff Hughes.
