Assembling 200 Bone Fragments... This Is the Appearance of a 40-Year-Old Woman from 75,000 Years Ago

Neanderthal Woman Estimated to Have Died in Her Mid-40s

The face of a Neanderthal woman estimated to have lived 75,000 years ago has been revealed.

Face of Neanderthal woman in her mid-40s, 'Shanidar Z,' revealed... "Would not stand out much if dressed in modern clothing"

On the 2nd (local time), a research team from the University of Cambridge in the UK unveiled the face of a Neanderthal woman named 'Shanidar Z,' reconstructed from skeletal fossils excavated in 2018 at the Shanidar Cave site in Iraq.
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

On the 1st (local time), the American CNN reported that researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK unveiled the face of a Neanderthal woman reconstructed from skeletal fossils excavated in 2018 at the Shanidar Cave site in Iraq. This Neanderthal was named 'Shanidar Z' after the cave where the fossils were found. It is estimated that she was in her mid-40s at the time of death.

The research team assembled over 200 pieces of Shanidar Z's skull over nine months and then reconstructed a face presumed to represent her appearance during life. When discovered, Shanidar Z's left hand was placed under her head in a trench dug into the ground, and stones were placed behind her head like a cushion. Only the upper body was preserved, making it difficult to immediately determine the sex, but the team later confirmed she was female through protein sequence analysis inside the enamel of her teeth.

Dr. Emma Pomeroy, who led the excavation and assembly of Shanidar Z's skeletal fossils, said, "It was like assembling a very delicate 3D jigsaw puzzle," emphasizing, "Although some parts were creatively reconstructed, the face was created based on the actual skull and data about Neanderthals."

Dr. Pomeroy explained, "Shanidar Z's face is somewhat large compared to her estimated height of about 1.5 meters, characterized by prominent brow ridges," adding, "She had quite large brow ridges that are rarely seen today, but if she were wearing modern clothing, she probably would not stand out much."

Dr. Pomeroy said, "The age is not 100% accurate, but what is certain is that she lived a relatively long life for that time," and added, "this reconstruction helped bridge the gap between modern anatomy and the 75,000 years of time."

Over 10 Neanderthal fossils excavated from one cave... refuting the notion that they were a "brutal species"

Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Neanderthals are believed to have first appeared 350,000 years ago and lived for about 300,000 years across Europe, the Middle East, and the Central Asian mountain ranges. They coexisted with modern humans, Homo sapiens, for a significant period before becoming extinct, and recent analyses show they left genetic traces in modern humans, drawing attention.

The Shanidar Cave, where Shanidar Z's skeletal fossils were excavated, has yielded fossils of over 10 Neanderthals since the 1950s and is considered a major archaeological site representing the mid-20th century. Shanidar Z attracted interest as a newly excavated Neanderthal fossil from this cave after about 20 years.

The discovery of multiple Neanderthal fossils in this cave indicates that Neanderthals had the custom of burying their dead in specific places. Scientists interpret this behavior as evidence that, contrary to the stereotype of Neanderthals as unintelligent and brutal, "they had compassion."