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Face of the 'oldest human' EVER revealed: Scientists bring to life woman who lived 45,000 years ago in modern-day Czechia
- A skull from a 45,000-year-old woman was found in Czechia
- Researchers used measurements of the skull to recreate the woman's face
- READ MORE: Skull discovered in Czech Republic dates back over 45,000 years
Scientists have revealed the face of what may be the 'oldest human' to walk the Earth - a woman who lived 45,000 years ago.
Her dark features were brought to life by an international team of academics from Brazil, Australia and Italy using a digital model of her broken skull.
The fossilized remains recovered in Czechia more than 70 years ago are only a portion of the skull, as researchers believe she was consumed by an animal after death.
While the team did not have access to the ancient skull, they used already recorded measurements and reference images, which the researchers previously used to recreate the face of Tutankhamun this year.
The woman, dubbed Zlatý kůň, or golden horse, was among the first Homo sapiens to live in Eurasia after our species migrated out of Africa - and her genome carried about three percent Neanderthal ancestry.
Zlatý kůň is considered a modern human, as this group had very large brains compared to early humans that emerged from ape-like ancestors.
The process of using images and recorded measurements is known as facial approximation, which is used in forensic studies.
It is the prediction of a face from a skull without prior knowledge of the decedent's actual facial appearance before they died.
Study co-author Cícero Moraes, a Brazilian graphics expert, told Live Science that he and the team used statistical data recorded in 2018 by researchers who created a reconstruction of the skull for educational purposes.
This was used with two CT scans of a modern man and woman, resulting in the digital face.
What most caught our attention was the robustness of the structure [of the face], especially the mandible [lower jaw],' Moraes said.
'When [archaeologists] found the skull, the first experts who analyzed it thought it was a man, and it's easy to understand why, in addition to the skull having characteristics that are very compatible with the male sex of current populations,' which include a 'robust' jaw.
'We see that the jaw structure of Zlatý kůň tends to be more compatible with Neanderthals.'
Face of the oldest modern human REVEALED using facial reconstruction
The woman, dubbed Zlatý kůň, or golden horse, was among the first Homo sapiens to live in Eurasia after our species migrated out of Africa - and the modern world has seen her face for the first time.
