(Press-News.org) "It is hoped that this reconstruction is a good likeness and that, if someone who knew him in life had been presented with this restoration, they would hopefully have recognised the face", says Jenny Barber, an MSc student at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
She has scientifically rebuilt the face of the strong and stocky Viste Boy, who lived in the Vistehola cave near Stavanger, so that people can now look him right in the eye.
Ms Barber is studying forensic art, an unusual discipline embracing such elements as human anatomy and identification in order to recreate the appearance of an actual person.
This modelling method is primarily employed to assist police investigations, and is little known or used in Norway. But the country's most extensive reconstruction of a Stone Age skeleton has now been achieved.
Complete
Discovered in 1907, the Viste Boy represents the most complete Norwegian Stone Age skeleton and the third oldest human remains ever found in the Norway.
His dark-coloured skull and bones are currently on display in a glass case at the Archaeological Museum on the University of Stavanger (UiS).
Analyses show that the Viste Boy was approximately 15 when he died. He stood a bit less than 1.25 metres tall and probably lived in a group of 10-15 people.
From their studies of rubbish in and around Vistehola, the archaeologists determined that this clan ate fish – mostly cod – as well as oysters, mussels, cormorants, elk and wild pig.
They also thought that the teenager might have been sickly, which would explain his early death.
Woman
The oldest of Norway's known skeletons from the Stone Age belonged to a woman and was discovered at Søgne near Kristiansand in 1994. Her skull has been dated to 8 600 years ago.
She was the subject of Norway's first and hitherto only reconstruction of such ancient bones, which was exhibited at the University of Oslo's Museum of Art History in 1997.
This model was based on data from a series of skull X-rays, which allowed specialists at University College in London to build a three-dimensional recreation.
But reconstruction techniques are steadily improving, and the model of the Viste Boy reproduces his features differently than with the Søgne woman.
"The goal has been to create something as similar as possible to the original," explains Ms Barber. "That's what facial reconstruction is all about – identification and recognition of a unique person."
Scanned
She has scanned the skull belonging to the long-dead youth with a laser surface scanner, which provided accurate data on his anatomy.
The cranium had suffered some damage, so the most complete side was duplicated. To support her work, Ms Barber also drew on a digital copy of the skull of another 15-year-old boy.
Nevertheless, the final anatomy corresponds to all intents and purposes with the original bone.
After her programming, Ms Barber could convert the digital construct into a plastic model and then shape muscle, skin and features in clay.
The clay bust formed the basis for a negative mould, with the finished product then cast in plastic resin and fibreglass. Eyes, ears and other details were finally painted or added.
Deformity
Ms Barber's work revealed that the Viste Boy had scaphocephaly ("boat-head"), a congenital deformity which makes the skull long and narrow. She left the modelled head hairless to show this.
"The fact that the boy had scaphocephaly is a medical detail we hadn't observed before," says Mads Ravn, head of research at the Archaeological Museum.
He is very enthusiastic about the job Ms Barber has done, and points to similar work at Denmark's Moesgård Museum to reconstruct the Grauballe Man – a body recovered from a Danish bog.
He turned out to have a very protruding jaw and close-set eyes, which prompted the theory that he was an executed outcast or criminal, rather than a rich man sacrificed to the gods.
It was also clear that – like the Tollund Man, another "bog body" – resembled many contemporary Danes.
The work done by Ms Barber on the Viste Boy also demonstrates that the stocky lad was no weakling.
"This reconstruction indicates that he must have been muscular, quite simply a robust person," she observes. "So it's not certain that he was sickly, as people have thought.
"The bone analysis doesn't bear out such a diagnosis, and he has no other deformities that we know of other than the scaphocephaly."
Great
Apart from the more scientific findings, such as the scaphocephaly and the good muscles, Mr Ravn thinks it is great to be able to look such a remote forefather in the eye.
"Just imagine, we can get an idea of how the oldest Norwegian man looked."
He is also very pleased at the opportunities this reconstruction opens up for the museum.
"Our challenge in older archaeology is to present the finds in a good way. Ms Barber's work has given us a fantastic chance to convey flesh and blood through a very ancient relic."
The project is part of the Scientific Archaeological Laboratory research programme at the UiS, which emphasises lab work in cooperation with the museum's Department of Education and Visitor Service.
Ms Barber herself stresses the educational aspect as an important motivation for her work.
"People are drawn to faces. The Viste Boy will probably attract attention in a future exhibition at the museum, bringing the story of Vistehola, the Viste Boy and the other people who lived there more alive for visitors."
She adds that facial reconstruction has been used for educational purposes by museums in many parts of the world, but is not used to any great extent at Norwegian institutions.
INFORMATION:
Text: Karen Anne Okstad
Translation: Rolf Gooderham
Face-to-face with an ancient human
A reconstruction based on the skull of Norway's best-preserved Stone Age skeleton makes it possible to study the features of a boy who lived outside Stavanger 7,500 years ago
2011-10-22
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Saint-Gobain of Valley Forge, PA Wins Prestigious Graphic Design USA Award
2011-10-22
Steel City Displays, a full service custom exhibit house located in Phoenixville, PA, is pleased to announce that their valued client Saint-Gobain's Creative Services Group, won a prestigious 2011 Graphic Design USA award.
Creative Services was honored for their design of the Saint-Gobain Corporate Communications display kiosks that were featured at the 2011 AIA (American Institute of Architects) Show. Steel City Displays designed and fabricated the custom built exhibits.
Commenting on the award, Bob Heck, President of Steel City Displays, said, "We are thrilled ...
Scary is exciting -- sheep's head is not for wimps
2011-10-22
Sheep's head is not for wimps. Until now very few of us have been tempted by this traditional Norwegian dish.
"It's a pity, because you will really have to look far and wide for a more tasty traditional dish," says Professor Reidar Mykletun at the Norwegian School of Hotel Management at the University of Stavanger.
"With good potatoes, rutabaga mash, beer and aquavit sheep's head is a tempting experience for genuine lamb enthusiasts. But sheep's head is an example of a dish that is scary for many of us. With both ears, mouth, teeth, tongue and eyes looking at you from ...
Culture in humans and apes has the same evolutionary roots
2011-10-22
Culture is not a trait that is unique to humans. By studying orangutan populations, a team of researchers headed by anthropologist Michael Krützen from the University of Zurich has demonstrated that great apes also have the ability to learn socially and pass them down through a great many generations. The researchers provide the first evidence that culture in humans and great apes has the same evolutionary roots, thus answering the contentious question as to whether variation in behavioral patterns in orangutans are culturally driven, or caused by genetic factors and environmental ...
Association of quantity of alcohol and frequency of consumption with cancer mortality
2011-10-22
A paper from the National Institutes of Health in the United States has evaluated the separate and combined effects of the frequency of alcohol consumption and the average quantity of alcohol drunk per occasion and how that relates to mortality risk from individual cancers as well as all cancers. The analysis is based on repeated administrations of the National Health Interview Survey in the US, assessing more than 300,000 subjects who suffered over 8,000 deaths from cancer. The research reports on total cancer deaths and deaths from lung, colorectal, prostate, and breast ...
Manufacturing goes viral
2011-10-22
Using a simple, single-step process, engineers and scientists at the University of California at Berkeley recently developed a technique to direct benign, filamentous viruses called M13 phages to serve as structural building blocks for materials with a wide range of properties.
By controlling the physical environment alone, the researchers caused the viruses to self-assemble into hierarchically organized thin-film structures, with complexity that ranged from simple ridges, to wavy, chiral strands, to truly sophisticated patterns of overlapping strings of material--results ...
Banish Bingo Wings with Mary Portas Amery from MyTights.com
2011-10-22
Banishing unsightly and aging "bingo wings" is easy with the new range of Mary Portas Armery from MyTights.com. In a survey by Charnos, women over 40 identified their upper arms as their number one problem area but now retail guru Mary Portas and hosiery manufacturer Charnos have joined forces to develop a new and stylish way to disguise and sculpt your upper arms - Armery.
Research earlier this year showed that 75% of women over 40 hated their wobbly upper arms more than any other part of their body. Shapewear solutions exist for all parts of the body but ...
New study shows soy protein improves lipid profile in healthy individuals
2011-10-22
A new study published online in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that soy protein compared to dairy milk protein supplementation improves the lipid profile in healthy individuals. This study investigated the effect of soy and milk protein supplementation on lipids compared with carbohydrate among healthy adults. Numerous research studies have demonstrated that soy protein reduces LDL ("the bad") cholesterol and increases HDL ("the good") cholesterol, supporting the soy protein heart health and cholesterol-lowering claim that is approved in 12 countries ...
Study finds minority consumers will voluntarily pay more for goods and services to assert status
2011-10-22
It has been well-documented that minorities are subject to discrimination in product pricing and customer service. What is startling is the result of a new study professors at the USC Marshall School of business in conjunction with University of San Diego's School of Business Administration, that shows that sometimes ill-treatment can make African-American consumers voluntarily pay more for goods and services than they would normally, as well as pay more than their Caucasian counterparts.
Aarti S. Ivanic, assistant professor of marketing at the University of San Diego's ...
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital adopts new imaging agent to improve detection of bladder cancer
2011-10-22
PHILADELPHIA—Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is one of a select number of medical centers nationwide offering a newly approved optical imaging agent for the detection of papillary cancer of the bladder in patients with known or suspected bladder cancer.
The availability of imaging agent known as Cysview signals the arrival of an innovative diagnostic technology for patients who have or may have bladder cancer, and underscores Jefferson's reputation as a leading comprehensive medical facility in the Delaware Valley.
The imaging agent is used to detect bladder cancer ...
Hire Disability Solutions Releases Updated Listing of Employers Recruiting Veterans During its 2011 Veterans' Career Expo on November 7th
2011-10-22
HireDS, LLC - a certified disabled owned company promoting the inclusion of our Veterans and people with disabilities into mainstream employment - today released an updated listing of companies, federal agencies, organizations and universities that will be recruiting Veterans and their families during its next 2011 Veterans' Career Expo. The Expo, themed "Be A Hero, Hire A Hero" Global Veterans Career Expo, is being held on November 7th in New York City aboard the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, as well as running virtually online simultaneously and for ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Pink skies
Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research
Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered
% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?
An app can change how you see yourself at work
NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals
New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China
Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds
Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea
New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea
Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes
Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others
Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke
Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition
Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life
Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy
Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming
Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly
Alcohol makes male flies sexy
TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income
Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression
Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring
Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs
AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders
First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes
Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows
Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission
UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages
In pancreatic cancer, a race against time
Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers
[Press-News.org] Face-to-face with an ancient humanA reconstruction based on the skull of Norway's best-preserved Stone Age skeleton makes it possible to study the features of a boy who lived outside Stavanger 7,500 years ago