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 methods of reconstructing faces from skulls, but also used genetic data. In particular, DNA analysis showed 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 website of Ghent University.
The remains of the ancient woman were excavated back in 1988 in Margo Cave, where archaeologists discovered 667 human bones that belonged to seven to ten adult women who lived in the early Mesolithic era. Researchers obtained several radiocarbon dates for these remains. The earliest of them is about 9250–8600 BC, and the latest is about 8690–8230 BC. One of the features of these finds is that the excavated burials are secondary, that is, the bodies of the deceased initially rested in another place. In addition, traces of various manipulations are visible on some bones. For example, on one of the skulls, scientists recorded cuts that indicate that the deceased's lower jaw was separated from the skull, and probably the scalp was removed.
