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Face of 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman revealed

Scientists have produced a remarkable reconstruction of what a Neanderthal woman would have looked like when she was alive. It is based on the flattened, shattered remains of a skull whose bones were so soft when excavated they had the consistency of "a well-dunked biscuit". Researchers first had to strengthen the fragments before reassembling them. Expert palaeoartists then created the 3D model.

The representation appears in a new BBC Studios documentary for Netflix called Secrets of the Neanderthals, which examines what we know about our long-lost evolutionary cousins, who became extinct about 40,000 years ago. The sculpture puts a face to these people. "I think she can help us connect with who they were," said Dr Emma Pomeroy, a palaeoanthropologist on the project from the University of Cambridge.


The skull on which the model is based was found in Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan. It is an iconic place where the remains of at least 10 Neanderthal men, women and children were unearthed in the 1950s.When a British group was invited back by the Kurdish authorities in 2015, they soon chanced upon a new skeleton - dubbed Shanidar Z - that comprised much of the individual's upper-body, including the spine, shoulders, arms and hands.  

Pelvic bones would help the determination but those were not recovered with the upper part of the body. Instead the researchers have relied on certain dominant proteins found in the tooth enamel that are associated with female genetics. The slight stature of the skeleton also supports the interpretation. By the time the teeth are getting this worn, chewing is not as effective as it would have been - so she's not able to eat in quite the same way, explained Dr Pomeroy.

"We've got some other indications of poor dental health - some infections, some gum disease as well. By this time, I think she was getting to the natural end of life."Pollen throughout one skeleton led some to argue that these Neanderthals might have been buried with flowers, suggestive perhaps of a spiritual awakening, even religion.

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