Scientists have unveiled the face of what could potentially be the oldest human to have inhabited the Earth. This woman, who lived 45,000 years ago, has been brought to life by an international team of academics through the use of a digital model of her damaged skull. Although only a portion of her skull has been recovered, as it is believed that she was preyed upon by an animal after her death, the researchers were able to recreate her appearance using recorded measurements and reference images, similar to their work on the reconstruction of Tutankhamun’s face earlier this year.
Dubbed Zlatý kůň, or “golden horse,” this woman was one of the first Homo sapiens to occupy Eurasia after our species migrated out of Africa. Her genome revealed that she carried about three percent Neanderthal ancestry. Zlatý kůň is classified as a modern human due to the large size of their brains compared to earlier human ancestors that evolved from ape-like creatures.
The process of facial approximation, which involves predicting the face of an individual based on their skull without prior knowledge of their actual facial features, was employed by the team. Study co-author Cícero Moraes, a graphics expert from Brazil, explained that statistical data recorded in 2018 by researchers who previously reconstructed the skull for educational purposes, along with CT scans of modern individuals, were used to create the digital representation of her face. Moraes noted the robustness of her facial structure, particularly the lower jaw, which initially led experts to believe that the skull belonged to a male individual. However, further analysis suggests that Zlatý kůň’s jaw structure is more similar to that of Neanderthals.
The skull fragments were discovered in a Bulgarian cave called Bacho Kiro in 1950. It is believed that animals gnawed on the woman’s face after her death. The missing portions of the skull, including parts of the nasal bone, maxilla, left orbit, and frontal bone, were reconstructed in 2018 using statistical data from various skulls and a three-dimensional reconstruction technique. The final images were generated using Blender 3D’s Cycles renderer, showcasing the objective features of the face without hair or color.
Through this process, the scientists were able to create a lifelike image of Zlatý kůň with dark, curly hair and brown eyes. However, since no information on the skin, hair, and eye color was available, the team relied on speculative elements to compose the visual structure of her face.
In 2021, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History revealed that Zlatý kůň lived approximately 2,000 years after the first interactions between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. Interestingly, the DNA from this individual and their population is not present in modern-day Asians or Europeans, indicating that the Czechia individual is likely older than other potential candidates as the earliest human fossil in Europe.
Overall, this discovery sheds light on the appearance of our ancient ancestors and provides valuable insights into the early migration of Homo sapiens out of Africa.
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