Researchers from Ghent University, in collaboration with the Dutch paleoart company Kennis & Kennis Reconstructions, have reconstructed the appearance of an ancient woman whose remains were found in the Meuse River valley in what is now Belgium. The scientists relied not only on classical facial reconstruction methods based on skulls but also on genetic data. Specifically, DNA analysis revealed that she had blue eyes and slightly lighter skin than most known Western European hunter-gatherers of the Mesolithic era. This was reported on the Ghent University website.
The remains of an ancient woman were excavated in 1988 in Margot Cave, where archaeologists discovered 667 human bones belonging to seven to ten adult women who lived during the Early Mesolithic era. Researchers obtained several radiocarbon dates for these remains. The earliest is between 9250 and 8600 BC, and the latest is between 8690 and 8230 BC. One of the peculiarities of these finds is that the excavated burials are secondary, meaning the bodies of the deceased were originally interred elsewhere. Furthermore, some bones show signs of various manipulations. For example, on one of the skulls, scientists recorded cuts indicating that the lower jaw was separated from the skull, and likely the scalp was removed.
