Latest news with #CheddarMan
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Genetic data reveals new details about Stone Age woman
Archaeologists have reconstructed the face of a Stone Age Belgian woman, revealing she had blue eyes and a dark complexion. Her fossil remains were unearthed in 1988 in the Margaux cave near Dinant, Belgium, dating back approximately 10,500 years. Genetic and archaeological data from Ghent University enabled the reconstruction, showing she belonged to the same hunter-gatherer population as Britain's Cheddar Man. The Margaux woman's slightly lighter skin compared to other Stone Age Western Europeans suggests greater diversity in skin pigmentation than previously thought. Scientists deduced her potential eye and skin colours from DNA analysis of her skull, though further research is needed for more precise details. Facial reconstruction of Stone Age Belgian woman reveals she had dark complexion
The Independent
30-06-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Facial reconstruction of Stone Age Belgian woman reveals she had dark complexion
Archaeologists have reconstructed the face of a Stone Age Belgian woman and found that she had blue eyes and a dark complexion, shedding more light on the ancestry of modern Europeans. 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 is no exact answer in ancient DNA,' De Groote said.
NDTV
20-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Scientists Recreate Face Of 10,500-Year-Old Woman Using DNA
Researchers at Ghent University have reconstructed the visage of a pale, dark-haired, blue-eyed prehistoric woman who lived 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium. They produced an amazing image, depicting the face of a woman who lived and died in the Meuse River valley, using ancient DNA. In 1988, the remains of the Mesolithic woman were found in the Margaux cave, which is close to Dinant. She was a hunter-gatherer from Western Europe, the same group as the popular Cheddar Man from Great Britain. DNA studies showed the Margaux woman's eyes were blue, just like Cheddar Man's. She did, however, have a somewhat lighter complexion than the majority of other Mesolithic individuals in Western Europe examined so far. It is a minor but crucial detail, according to the project's lead geneticist, Dr. Maite Rivollat. The reconstruction of her face and living conditions was made possible by a mix of anatomical, genetic, and archaeological data. Ghent University archaeologist Isabelle De Groote told CNN that the 'Meuse Woman' was from the same ethnicity as the Cheddar Man, who lived in what is now the United Kingdom at the time, but had a lighter complexion. "We could also infer from the skull that she was between 35 and 60 years old," De Groote told CNN. The prehistoric Belgian woman also resembled Cheddar Man with a prominent nasal bridge. "She also has noticeable brow ridges, even though she's a woman," De Groote added. University archaeologist Philippe Crombe said that "quite good quality" DNA was extracted from the woman's skull so that "a very detailed reconstruction" could be made. While some of her features, like her jewellery and tattoos, are based on archaeological data gathered from previous digs in the River Meuse basin, helping researchers create a picture of the woman's daily life — her complexion, hair, and eyes are all based on ancient DNA. The creative team also used archaeological evidence, such as tools, shells, paints, and camp remnants. This made her world come to life, along with her face. Every detail was meticulously recreated, from hunting methods to transportation, from plants to animals. The remains of the 'Meuse Woman' were discovered in the Margaux cave in Dinant in 1988-1989, along with the remains of eight other women. This was "an unusual finding" because the majority of Mesolithic burial sites include a mix of men, women, and children. The reconstruction was carried out in cooperation with Dutch artists Kennis and Kennis and researchers from the ROAM project (a Regional Outlook on Ancient Migration), an interdisciplinary effort comprising archaeologists, bioanthropologists, geneticists, and artists.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists reconstruct 10,500-year-old woman's face using DNA
Sign up for CNN's Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Researchers studying the remains of a prehistoric woman who lived around 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium have produced a reconstruction of her face using ancient DNA. A team led by scientists from Ghent University found that the woman would have had blue eyes and slightly lighter skin than most other people from the Mesolithic period in Western Europe who have been analyzed to date, according to a statement from the university on Tuesday. Isabelle De Groote, an archaeologist at Ghent University who leads the research project on Mesolithic Belgium, told CNN that 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, but had lighter skin. The findings challenge previous assumptions that European hunter gatherers shared the same genetic makeup, and demonstrates that there was already considerable variation in skin color among different populations, said De Groote. 'From the skull we could also tell that she was somewhere between 35 and 60 years old,' De Groote told CNN on Wednesday. 'She also had a nose with a high nasal bridge, which is similar to Cheddar Man,' De Groote added. 'She also has strong brow ridges despite being a female.' The woman's remains were found in the Margaux cave in Dinant during an archaeological dig in 1988-1989 alongside the bodies of eight other women, said De Groote. This was 'an unusual finding' as most Mesolithic burial sites contain a mixture of men, women and children, she added. 'Many of the skeletons were sprinkled with ochre, a practice associated with ritual or symbolic behavior,' said De Groote. Most of the bodies were carefully covered with stone fragments, while one individual had cut marks on her skull that were made after her death, she added. 'Also interesting is that this burial cave was used over a period of several hundreds of years so that they were places of memory that people would go back to despite their mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle,' said De Groote. 'These findings point to complex burial customs and raise intriguing questions about the social structure and cultural practices of this early hunter-gatherer community,' she added. Philippe Crombé, an archaeologist at the university who is part of the project team, said that the ancient woman's skin color was 'a bit of a surprise,' but there's a limited pool of Mesolithic people with whom to compare. 'All individuals so far analyzed on ancient DNA in Western Europe have belonged to the same genetic group,' he said. 'So it's a bit of a surprise, but on the other hand, it is to be expected that in the wide area of Western Europe there's some variability, as there is today.' When the remains were recovered there was no way to conduct research into ancient DNA, said Crombé. 'Techniques have developed since the excavation,' he told CNN on Wednesday, adding that the interdisciplinary project is 'a re-analysis of old excavations using state of the art methods.' Crombé detailed how 'quite good quality' DNA was taken from the woman's skull, allowing for the creation of 'a very detailed reconstruction.' Her skin color, hair color and eye color is all based on ancient DNA, while other elements such as her jewelry and tattoos are based on archaeological data obtained from other excavations in the River Meuse basin, which also allowed them to build a picture of her daily life. At one excavation – a former campsite on the banks of the river – scientists found stone tools, bones from wild game and fish remains, said Crombé, providing evidence that these people would have been nomadic. 'They're still moving around because they are entirely dependent on natural resources: wild game, wild plants, fish,' he said. 'So that forced them to move through the landscape and to move their settlements.' Many questions remain about these Mesolithic communities, which were the last hunter-gatherers in Western Europe, said Crombé. Now the team are analyzing the remains to piece together the relationships between people who were buried together, and also plan to study the extent to which they would have eaten fish, he added.
CNN
19-06-2025
- Science
- CNN
Scientists reconstruct 10,500-year-old woman's face using DNA
Researchers studying the remains of a prehistoric woman who lived around 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium have produced a reconstruction of her face using ancient DNA. A team led by scientists from Ghent University found that the woman would have had blue eyes and slightly lighter skin than most other people from the Mesolithic period in Western Europe who have been analyzed to date, according to a statement from the university on Tuesday. Isabelle De Groote, an archaeologist at Ghent University who leads the research project on Mesolithic Belgium, told CNN that 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, but had lighter skin. The findings challenge previous assumptions that European hunter gatherers shared the same genetic makeup, and demonstrates that there was already considerable variation in skin color among different populations, said De Groote. 'From the skull we could also tell that she was somewhere between 35 and 60 years old,' De Groote told CNN on Wednesday. 'She also had a nose with a high nasal bridge, which is similar to Cheddar Man,' De Groote added. 'She also has strong brow ridges despite being a female.' The woman's remains were found in the Margaux cave in Dinant during an archaeological dig in 1988-1989 alongside the bodies of eight other women, said De Groote. This was 'an unusual finding' as most Mesolithic burial sites contain a mixture of men, women and children, she added. 'Many of the skeletons were sprinkled with ochre, a practice associated with ritual or symbolic behavior,' said De Groote. Most of the bodies were carefully covered with stone fragments, while one individual had cut marks on her skull that were made after her death, she added. 'Also interesting is that this burial cave was used over a period of several hundreds of years so that they were places of memory that people would go back to despite their mobile hunter-gatherer lifestyle,' said De Groote. 'These findings point to complex burial customs and raise intriguing questions about the social structure and cultural practices of this early hunter-gatherer community,' she added. Philippe Crombé, an archaeologist at the university who is part of the project team, said that the ancient woman's skin color was 'a bit of a surprise,' but there's a limited pool of Mesolithic people with whom to compare. 'All individuals so far analyzed on ancient DNA in Western Europe have belonged to the same genetic group,' he said. 'So it's a bit of a surprise, but on the other hand, it is to be expected that in the wide area of Western Europe there's some variability, as there is today.' When the remains were recovered there was no way to conduct research into ancient DNA, said Crombé. 'Techniques have developed since the excavation,' he told CNN on Wednesday, adding that the interdisciplinary project is 'a re-analysis of old excavations using state of the art methods.' Crombé detailed how 'quite good quality' DNA was taken from the woman's skull, allowing for the creation of 'a very detailed reconstruction.' Her skin color, hair color and eye color is all based on ancient DNA, while other elements such as her jewelry and tattoos are based on archaeological data obtained from other excavations in the River Meuse basin, which also allowed them to build a picture of her daily life. At one excavation – a former campsite on the banks of the river – scientists found stone tools, bones from wild game and fish remains, said Crombé, providing evidence that these people would have been nomadic. 'They're still moving around because they are entirely dependent on natural resources: wild game, wild plants, fish,' he said. 'So that forced them to move through the landscape and to move their settlements.' Many questions remain about these Mesolithic communities, which were the last hunter-gatherers in Western Europe, said Crombé. Now the team are analyzing the remains to piece together the relationships between people who were buried together, and also plan to study the extent to which they would have eaten fish, he added.
