In recent years, quite a few historical reconstructions of the appearance of people of the past have been carried out. This often leads to the question of whether the resulting image actually matches the appearance of the reproduced person. But as controversial as this issue is, face reconstruction of our ancestors is a popular way to humanize the past and also to attract people's interest.
Why is she needed
Reconstruction has always been highly regarded in forensic activities as a way to help identify a person's identity. But recently, this direction has attracted the attention of archaeologists and historians. From Tutankhamen to Lucy's Australopithecus, reconstruction helps us understand that those we read about in the history books are not myths, they really existed. This way we are more able to show interest and sympathy for their way of life. But how sure can we be that the resulting image corresponds to the historical prototype?
Recent controversy
2018 presented us with a number of interesting reconstructions. For example, the creators of the image of Nefertiti were accused of giving her a too light skin tone, which is hardly possible for an Egyptian. But the Cheddar man, on the other hand, was found too dark. A teenage girl, nicknamed Avgi, was made the subject of ridicule because of her too harsh, almost masculine appearance (however, if the ancient Greeks also teased her for being masculine, then it is not surprising that she looks so displeased).
Promotional video:
Art or Science?
The "resurrection" of people through reconstruction requires a combination of the techniques of science and art. And it is not always possible to say with certainty which of this dominates in each particular case. It is one thing to restore the anonymous woman, nicknamed Avgi, and quite another to reconstruct such a significant figure as, for example, Cleopatra, whom her contemporaries described in detail and whose profile picture was preserved on ancient coins.
Each renovation is a special task requiring creative input.
It is necessary to decide which of the magnificent decorations of Elizabeth I, depicted in the portraits of the court flatterers, correspond to the truth in order to correctly reconstruct it. But a lot of imagination is also required in order to understand in what style the girls of the Bronze Age wore their hairstyles.
In both cases, the image is built on facial features that are scientifically determined using osteometric data and accurate measurements of the skull. Where pieces have broken off, complex formulas are used to recover.
Criticism from both sides
Unfortunately for the artists who devote themselves to restoring the appearance of their ancestors from the distant and recent past, their art is criticized by both scientists and artists. Scientists say that reconstruction is too subjective a thing, depending on the artistic talent of the person who implements it, and after all, the world's best anthropologists are hardly great artists at the same time. But the artists themselves argue that the field of activity is too dependent on data and averaged indicators, and the similarities will be rather general in nature, but without taking into account the true characteristics.
Help of modern technologies
The first face reconstructions date back to the Victorian era, but they've definitely undergone a number of improvements since then. Today's reproductions are taking advantage of technology to help achieve greater accuracy. Digital reconstructions mean that hairstyle, eye color, and other data can be changed quickly and easily if researchers provide new details.
Moreover, the controversial decision to give the Cheddar man dark skin was based on DNA analysis. Until recently, it was impossible to define appearance in this way. This breakthrough avoids many inaccuracies in reproductions.
Obstacles to progress
Hair and eye color is usually open to many interpretations. The reconstruction of the Bronze Age woman, nicknamed Ava, was made in 2016. The artist awarded Ava with blonde hair and blue eyes. Thanks to DNA analysis, the reproduction was improved in 2018, as it was revealed that she had dark straight hair and brown eyes.
But DNA testing is expensive. In addition, it is not always possible to analyze the bones of a person who is undergoing reconstruction. So it looks like artistic interpretation for the foreseeable future will continue to be part of the work of historical reconstruction of human appearance. But the main thing is that this type of activity continues to inspire and also help people to connect with the past. So, even with some inaccuracies, the face reconstruction trend continues to gain momentum.
The echo of the distant past
What conclusions can be drawn about this direction of scientific and artistic activity? Reconstructions of the appearance of our distant ancestors allow us to touch history, hear the echo of the past. We not only learn new things about how these people lived and what they looked like; no, we learn new things about ourselves. Because the history of mankind is the totality of the stories of each individual person.
The most striking thing is that today we have much more knowledge about our ancestors than people who lived before us, closer to that period. Modern technologies keep pace with the times, constantly evolving and giving us more and more invaluable knowledge about those people, about our very distant relatives, and thus about ourselves.
Maxim Ewald