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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
See the lifelike face of a Stone Age hunter-gatherer woman, revealed thanks to ancient DNA
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Researchers and artists have created a striking facial reconstruction of a Stone Age woman who lived roughly 10,500 years ago in what is now Belgium. The detailed depiction of the prehistoric hunter-gatherer, known as the "Margaux woman," is based on various scientific data, including the remains of her skeleton and ancient DNA, according to a statement from Ghent University in Belgium. The reconstruction — which was produced by the university's interdisciplinary Regional Outlook on Ancient Migration (ROAM) project, in collaboration with Dutch artists and twin brothers Adrie and Alfons Kennis — reveals an intriguing set of features. ROAM research has indicated that the hunter-gatherer likely had blue or light eyes and a surprising "medium-toned" skin complexion, project leader Isabelle De Groote, a professor in the Department of Archaeology at Ghent University, told Live Science in an email. This skin tone appears to be slightly lighter than that of most other Western European individuals from the Mesolithic period (or Middle Stone Age) that scientists have studied so far. Related: 45 amazing facial reconstructions, from Stone Age shamans to King Tut Comparing her to other individuals who lived in roughly the same time period, such as the iconic Cheddar Man from England, reveals this "subtle but important" difference that highlights the variation already present in post-ice age Western Europe, De Groote said. "The skin pigmentation of the Margaux woman points to greater complexity of skin pigmentation within these populations and that it was more heterogenous than previously thought." Cheddar Man belonged to the same Western European hunter-gatherer population as the Margaux woman, according to the statement. Previous research has suggested that he also had blue eyes, although his skin complexion is thought to have been slightly darker. Other members of this hunter-gatherer population shared a similar combination of dark skin and pale eyes. The remains of the female hunter-gatherer first came to light in 1988 during an excavation of the Margaux cave near Dinant, in Belgium's Meuse Valley region. At the time, the genetic analysis techniques that informed the new reconstruction were not research team first scanned the woman's skull and created a 3D-printed reproduction, De Groote said. The Kennis brothers then used this printed version to model the muscle and skin of the head. They did this using anatomical standards for the region while taking into account the age of the woman. Based on features of her skull, the researchers estimated that she would have been between 35 and 60 years old when she died. RELATED STORIES —Neanderthal woman's face brought to life in stunning reconstruction —Most ancient Europeans had dark skin, eyes and hair up until 3,000 years ago, new research finds —Stunning reconstruction reveals warrior and his weapons from 4,000-year-old burial in Siberia The team deduced her potential eye color and skin complexion using ancient DNA extracted from parts of her skull. They also considered the effect of suntanning to re-create her skin color, given that she likely lived a mobile, outdoor lifestyle. Although facial reconstructions such as these can provide a fascinating window into the distant past, some elements are open to interpretation. "Actual skin tone and eye colour is difficult to discern," De Groote said. "There is no exact answer in ancient DNA."
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.
Times
17-06-2025
- Science
- Times
DNA from 10,000-year-old skull gives woman of Meuse a face
The first hunter gatherers of the Meuse river valley moved with the rhythm of the seasons. The tribes, who predated the Neolithic and Bronze Age builders of Stonehenge by 5,000 years, left little trace they ever roamed northern Europe. What little we did know about our ancient ancestors, who lived more than 10,000 years ago, was that they were likely to have had dark skin and, as evidenced by Cheddar Man, found in 1903 — the most complete prehistoric remains to be discovered in Britain — they probably had blue eyes. Then along came the woman of Meuse. She was among the remains of 30 to 60 females from the Mesolithic period discovered in 1988 in the Margaux caves near Dinant, a picturesque town on the Meuse in Belgium. Now, after decades of study, scientists have been able to reconstruct her face. • Could Neanderthal fingerprint be the world's oldest portrait? 'We were able to extract very well-preserved DNA from the skull. That's how we learnt more,' said Professor Isabelle De Groote, who led the team of scientists from Ghent University, revealing for the first time that Meuse woman had lighter skin than prehistoric remains found at other sites, although they share blue eyes and dark hair. 'We know that she had blue eyes and an average skin colour. That's striking; until now, most finds from that time indicated a darker skin,' said De Groote. 'This indicates that there was a greater diversity in skin pigmentation than we previously thought.' The difference in skin colour is thought to have been influenced by factors such as diet, migration and climate. 'They moved around,' said De Groote. 'They left fewer traces than the early farmers who came later.' The woman, who had lighter skin than was expected, lived in the Meuse River valley during the Mesolithic period The society of women seems to have had religious rituals. 'We noticed that the skulls were scalped and manipulated with ochre, possibly as a burial ritual. It is also striking that only women were buried there,' said De Groote. 'We know what the woman ate, based on animal remains. Remains of poles indicate camps. Remains of hazelnuts show that there were hazel forests.' There is an online poll to give the face a name, with three options: Margo, Freya or Mos'anne. The first refers to the Margaux cave in which the skull was found. Freya is the name of the hills in which the caves are located and Mos'anne is the French name of the Meuse valley.
