Scientists reconstruct face of 315,000-year-old human
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Scientists in Morocco used fossils to create a digital reconstruction of a face from approximately 315,000 years ago, offering a glimpse into the appearance of early Homo sapiens.
A worker discovered a skull at Jebel Irhoud in the 1960s, which researchers originally believed belonged to an African Neanderthal. Later analysis and dating work revealed the remains were actually from some of the oldest known members of our species, pushing back the known history of Homo sapiens by roughly 100,000 years.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology combined fragments of several fossils to build a more complete digital skull. They then used a modern human skull and tissue thickness measurements to estimate the facial structure, employing software developed since 2013 for anatomical deformation. Because a complete skull wasn't available, scientists used pieces from multiple individuals found in the same archaeological layer, ensuring a good fit between the mandible and teeth.
The resulting face, while possessing robust features and a projecting jaw, would likely blend into a modern crowd. The reconstruction exists in grayscale and colorized versions, with the grayscale images representing the most scientifically accurate portrayal of the facial shape. The skull’s cranial cavity measured 1,364 milliliters, aligning with a previous estimate based on CT data.
