Official announcements from the archaeological team or peer-reviewed publications

Face of Shanidar Z, 75,000-Year-Old Neanderthal, Reconstructed by UK Team

May 2, 2024, 11:00 AM

A team of UK archaeologists has successfully reconstructed the face of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman, known as Shanidar Z, whose skull was discovered in a cave in Iraqi Kurdistan in 2018. The skull, severely flattened by a rock slide, has been meticulously reassembled, allowing scientists to recreate her appearance. This breakthrough, revealed by scientists, provides new insights into Neanderthal appearance and challenges previous perceptions of the species as brutish. The reconstructed face shows remarkable similarities to modern humans, suggesting easier interbreeding between Neanderthals and contemporary human ancestry.