The ancient men belonged to a community of literate and highly skilled individuals, scientists say
THE faces of two 2,500-year-old male skulls were brought back to life through digital reconstructions.
The recreations offer a rare insight into what the early inhabitants of Tamil Nadu, in southern India, might have looked like, as well as their fascinating ancestries.
Indian researchers at Madurai Kamaraj University, in collaboration with Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University, recreated the faces of two individuals from skulls discovered at the Kondegai burial site, reports BBC News.
The site is just 2.5 miles from Keeladi – an ancient settlement that was home to an urban civilisation dating back to 580 BC.
Archaeologists have excavated around 50 urns at Kondegai, containing bones, food grains and other daily necessities.
Now, researchers are extracting DNA from these bones to gain a deeper understanding of the Keeladi inhabitants.
Professor G Kumaresan, head of the university’s genetics department, told BBC News: “We want to understand our ancestry and the migration routes of our ancestors.”
He explained: “The faces mainly have features of Ancient Ancestral South Indians – a population group believed to be the first inhabitants of the Indian subcontinent.”
Interestingly, the men’s facial features also show traces of Middle Eastern Eurasian and Austro-Asiatic ancestries – likely the result of ancient population mixing, similar to today’s global migration patterns.
While Prof Kumaresan believes more research is needed to fully understand the ancestries of Keeladi’s residents, he said: “The message we can all take home is that we are more diverse than we realise, and the proof of this lies in our DNA.”
Researchers at the university created 3D digital scans of the skulls, which were then sent to Face Lab in the UK.
The Liverpool-based research group is renowned for its expertise in creating digital craniofacial reconstructions that combine forensic science, cutting-edge technologies and artistic principles.
Experts added muscles, flesh and skin to the scans of skulls.
As for the skin tone of the men, Prof Kumaresan explained that experts followed standard practices by using colours that match the physical traits of modern-day Tamil Nadu residents.
Previously, archaeologists believed the northern and central parts of India were home to the country’s first major civilisation, the Indus Valley.
But discoveries at Keeladi challenge this, showing that an advanced civilisation thrived in the south.
The inhabitants of the ancient settlement are believed to have been literate, lived in brick houses, engaged in trade and honoured one another through elaborate burial rites.
Researchers are now eager to study Keeladi as thoroughly as the Indus Valley Civilisation.
Prof Kumaresan said: “So far, we have learnt that the people of Keeladi were involved in agriculture, trade and cattle-rearing. They kept deer, goats and wild pigs and ate lots of rice and millets.”
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/tech/15035548/faces-skulls-recreated-early-inhabitants-india/
