A powerful woman buried with a silver coin from the Bronze Age in Spain has been digitally recreated, revealing a slender face adorned with massive dangling earrings.
Earlier this year, researchers announced the discovery of the remains of a woman and a man buried together in a large ceramic urn, likely in an ancient palace. The man died several years before the woman, and after her passing, her body was placed next to his.
Now, using a part of the skull and jewelry from the burial site, a graphic expert has d digitally reconstructed the woman’s face, as well as the faces of others buried at the site, known as La Almoloya.
The digitally reconstructed face of the powerful Bronze Age woman.
“The biggest challenge in reconstructing this face was that the upper part of the woman’s skull did not survive through the ages,” said Joana Bruno, a freelance scientific illustrator who created the digital reconstructions and collaborated with archaeologists at La Almoloya from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain.
Bruno added, “Fortunately, the silver crown was found in the correct position around this woman’s head, so we could measure her head, but it was still a challenge.”
The identity of the woman wearing the headband has intrigued scientists since archaeologists excavated her burial site in 2014. Her luxurious burial goods included beaded necklaces, rings, bracelets, spiral-shaped ear ornaments, and a silver diadem.
Researchers previously stated that a drinking vessel and a silver-tipped tool, used for tearing fibers, were of superior quality and more valuable than the goods buried with the man.
They also noted that these precious items possibly indicate that the woman held more power than her partner, especially since she outlived him and was buried with valuable items.
Before the face reconstruction, anthropologists cleaned, stabilized, and studied the remains to determine sex, age at death, overall health, and other characteristics of the individual.
Bruno remarked, “This information is always taken into account during the face reconstruction process. In the case of a Bronze Age woman who died between the ages of 25 and 30 and had several congenital diseases, including missing cervical vertebrae and ribs.”
Next, Bruno took specific measurements of the skull and performed laser scans of the skull and jaw. The laser scanning process allowed Bruno to work with a digital copy of the original and minimize handling of the fragile bones. Then, to “unmask” the face, Bruno relied on published techniques to estimate the positions of facial features such as the eyes, nose, and mouth, and to determine the thickness of the tissues.
The entire process and Bruno’s collaboration with anthropologists highlight the ability to estimate and reconstruct missing skeletal parts with the highest possible accuracy without damaging the original, said Cristina Rihuete Herrada, a professor of archaeology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a collaborator.
Thanks to the 3D laser scanning of the jewelry, the face of the Bronze Age woman has emerged beautifully.
