What people looked like a century ago: Modern technology has allowed scientists to get to the bottom of the truth
What did people from the past look like? Most often, the guideline for answering this question are pictures or verbal descriptions in documentary or fiction. But are they objective? Often not, because the artist always conveys his personal perception, and seeks to show the most attractive image. Modern technologies allow to recreate a real image and show what people from the past would look like if they happened to be our contemporaries.
1. King Henry IV of France
Henry IV was the king of France from 1589 to 1610 and was tragically killed during the attack of a Catholic fan on him, died from his knife wounds. Heinrich went down in history as a kind and wise ruler who cared about the welfare of his subjects. The reconstruction of the face of Heinrich was conducted by the historian Philip Frosch, he created a 3D model, based on the preserved skull of the monarch.
2. Ava – a woman from the Bronze Age
The name Ava was given to a woman whose remains were found in a cave by Scottish archaeologists. Project manager Maya Hoole notes that the woman lived more than 3.5 thousand years ago. She was buried in an unusual way – her remains were in a hole dug in stone. Supposedly, Ava could have been an important person, since the arrangement of such a tomb required a lot of time.
Historians have found the preserved bones and recreated the image bit by bit. For example, the jaw was missing, and the size of the lips was calculated according to the thickness of the enamel on the teeth, and on the basis of these data, the depth of the facial tissues was determined. Scientists have determined that Ava’s skull was partially deformed, presumably after her death. For what purpose it was done remains a mystery.
3. Egyptian Queen Meritamon
Meritamon was the daughter of Pharaoh Ramses II. Scientists from the University of Melbourne recreated her appearance using data from medical research and computed tomography. From the surviving remains, it was possible to determine that the girl’s age at the time of death was between 18 and 25 years old, and she could suffer from anemia. Egyptologists, graphic artists, worked on re-creating the face of Meritamon, paying special attention to the queen’s remaining bust and statues depicting it.
4. A man who lived in Dublin 500 years ago.
In 2014, archaeologists in Dublin found the burial of four people, made about 500 years ago. Scientists were able to establish that all four had obvious signs of malnutrition, they were all engaged in hard manual labor and were poor. One of the skulls has been preserved in the best way, according to it, archaeologists restored the image of the Dublin who lived five hundred years ago.
5. Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus is considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians and astronomers of the Renaissance. It was he who formulated the heliocentric system, proving that the Earth and other planets revolve around the sun. Copernicus died at the age of 70, Polish scientists with the help of modern technology managed to restore his portrait.
6. Jane from Jamestown – Cannibal Victim
Jamestown was the first colony of European migrants who came to settle in America. In 1609-1610, hunger began among the settlers and, according to scientists from the Smithsonian Institution for Natural History, people went to any lengths, even to cannibalism.
In 2012, scientists discovered a find that shocked them. In the garbage pit among the bones of the animals they found … fragments of a human skull. In the course of the research it was established that the remains belonged to a young girl no older than 14 years old, who was killed and eaten in a brutal manner. Traces on the bones of the skull clearly indicated that her body, like a carcass, was torn to pieces and even the brain was eaten, and the bones found suggested that the lower part of the body was carefully divided by the butcher.
