Researchers have unveiled a new depiction of a woman who inhabited the region of present-day Czech Republic approximately 45,000 years ago. The visualization is based on skull fragments unearthed in 1950 within the Koněprusy Caves, located in Central Bohemia, about 25 kilometers southwest of Prague. The hill above this site is known as Zlatý kůň, hence her designation as the Zlatý kůň woman.
Initially, the discovered remains were believed to belong to an individual from around 12,000 years ago. However, subsequent genetic dating revealed the specimen to be approximately 45,000 years old. This makes the Zlatý kůň woman considered the oldest anatomically modern human whose genome has been successfully sequenced. She represents one of the early human groups that migrated into Europe during the Stone Age.
The skull was first presumed to be male due to its robust features. Later genetic analysis identified the remains as belonging to a female. Her DNA also indicated roughly 3% Neanderthal admixture, suggesting interbreeding between modern humans and Neanderthals.
The reconstruction was created by Brazilian designer Cícero Moraes in collaboration with an international team of specialists. The project utilized digital scans of the bones, which were published in 2018. According to Expats.cz, the original remains of the Zlatý kůň woman are preserved in the anthropological department of the National Museum in Prague.
The skull was significantly damaged, necessitating the reconstruction of missing sections by mirroring preserved areas from the opposite side. Moraes suggested that after death, the skull may have been gnawed by animals, possibly a wolf or a hyena. He also noted that the jaw structure of this woman bore more resemblance to Neanderthals than to modern humans, and her cranial capacity was larger than that of present-day humans.
The primary visualizations depict the woman with grey skin, hairless, and with her eyes closed. Additionally, the creators produced several more generalized versions featuring brownish skin, dark eyes, and dark, curly hair. Moraes explained, “The aim of the second option is to present a face that is more easily relatable to the general public.”
In an accompanying scientific paper, he specifically pointed out that even the basic grey rendering involved a considerable degree of assumption. The precise depth of soft tissues remains unknown, leading the artist to employ relatively uniform estimations, despite variations in tissue thickness across the faces of modern humans.
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