Researchers have reconstructed the face of a 18-year-old girl living 7000 years ago whose remains were found in 1993 at Theopetra cave, near the city of Trikala, Central Greece.

The remains of the girl date back to the Mesolithic Era (7000 BC). The woman was named after “the Dawn of civilization“, as the woman whose skull provided the basis for the reconstruction lived at the time human beings transitioned from food collectors to food cultivators. A team of archaeologists led by Manolis Papagrigorakis has collaborated with Swedish sculptor Oscar Nilsson, whose studio specializes on historical body reconstructions. The  reconstruction  involved several medical specialities including an endocrinologist, an orthopaedic, a neurologist, a pathologist and a radiologist.

It is believed that the woman was around 15-18 years old when she died. According to the artists, the woman has a protruding jaw, thought to be caused by chewing on animal skin to make it into soft leather – a common practice among people of that era – and a scowling expression. The researchers believe that Dawn was possibly anaemic and may have suffered from scurvy. Evidence also pointed to hip and joint problems, which may have made it difficult for her to move and may have contributed to her death. Along the remains stone tools from the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic periods have also been discovered, as well as pottery from the Neolithic period. The facial reconstruction of Dawn is currently on display at the Acropolis Museum in Athens.

(after Tornos News, Oscar Nielsson & Daily News)