A Brazilian 3D designer has opened a window onto Britain’s ancient past with these stunning recreations of a Bronze Age woman whose remains were found in Scotland.
The work of 3D designer Cicero Moraes, who “brings historical figures back to life”, was published by the OrtogoOnLineMag magazine on 22nd June.
His images show what a Bronze Age woman dubbed Ava, whose remains were found in Achavanich, Scotland, in 1987, would have looked like.
Shortly after the find, researchers pieced together her skeleton and concluded she was a five-foot-seven-inch-tall woman.
DNA analysis later revealed that Ava had brown eyes, black hair, and a slightly darker skin tone than present-day Scots.
Cicero began his facial reconstruction work after learning that sketches of Ava’s skull were freely available on the Sketchfab website.
In the article accompanying his images, Cicero explained: “Forensic facial reconstruction (FFR) is an auxiliary recognition technique that reconstructs/approximates an individual’s face based on their skull.
“It is used when there is limited information for identifying an individual.”
He added that he used the Blender 3D software for his project, with the assistance of the OrtogOnBlender extension.
Cicero also told how he completed the missing facial structures in Ava’s skull and generated her face using an anatomical deformation technique.
This is not the first reconstruction of the face of Ava, who is believed to have lived approximately 4,250 years ago.
The earliest reconstructions of her appearance gave her blue eyes and red hair.
Earlier reports say she died aged 18 to 25 and her parents or grandparents may have arrived in Scotland from what is now the Netherlands or somewhere nearby.
