These facial reconstructions reveal 40,000 years of English ancestry
CultureJul 20, 2022
The face of a girl who died more than 1.3K years ago and whose skeleton was found buried on a wooden bed with a gold and garnet cross on her chest at Trumpington, Cambridgeshire, UK, has been facially reconstructed by forensic artist Hew Morrison.
The ancient Anglo-Saxon girl died at the age of 16 and was buried in the village of Trumpington between AD 650 and AD 680. The facial reconstruction shows she had pale skin, a petite nose, strong cheekbones, and one eye slightly lower than the other.
The Trumpington burial is only the latest in a years-long series of facial reconstructions reviving 40K years of English ancestry. From Neanderthal women and early modern men to a 5.6K-year-old Neolithic woman and the even older Cheddar Man, scientists and digital artists have given us access to unbelievably accurate depictions of people long forgotten. Moreover, these reconstructions not only give us a glimpse into ancient societies as a whole but to the lives of distinct individuals of those times.
Despite the scientific and artistic marvels of ancient facial reconstructions, the two distinct fields are still at odds with one another. While scientists can provide incredibly accurate biological data, they can't produce the artistry needed to capture the interest of the general public; and while artists help with that, they are no experts in the biological realities of ancient human beings. If we are to continue advancing in such archaeological endeavors, both sides must accept that neither will be perfect, but the educational end goal is the same.