Fragments of the oldest human fossil found within today's Brazilian borders, known as "Luzia" were recovered among the rubble of Rio de Janeiro's National Museum after a fire destroyed the building. Brazilian officials said Friday they have recovered pieces of a 12,000-year-old fossil of a neolithic woman that was among the prized artifacts in Rio de Janeiro's burnt down National Museum. The fossil, nicknamed "Luzia," was discovered in 1970 in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais by a French-led expedition. A Manchester University team later did a digital face reconstruction based on the skull, which was used to model a sculpture of the ancient woman. That sculpture went up in flames in September along with most of the museum's 20 million artifacts. But the original skull fragments, kept in a metal urn in a closet, were found a few days ago.(Photo/Agencies)
Fragments of the oldest human fossil found within today's Brazilian borders, known as "Luzia" were recovered among the rubble of Rio de Janeiro's National Museum after a fire destroyed the building. Brazilian officials said Friday they have recovered pieces of a 12,000-year-old fossil of a neolithic woman that was among the prized artifacts in Rio de Janeiro's burnt down National Museum. The fossil, nicknamed "Luzia," was discovered in 1970 in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais by a French-led expedition. A Manchester University team later did a digital face reconstruction based on the skull, which was used to model a sculpture of the ancient woman. That sculpture went up in flames in September along with most of the museum's 20 million artifacts. But the original skull fragments, kept in a metal urn in a closet, were found a few days ago.(Photo/Agencies)
Alexander Kellner, the Director of Rio de Janeiro's National Museum speaks during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on October 19, 2018. Fragments of the 11,500 year old skeleton were recovered after a large scale fire destroyed most of the exhibits and the structure of Rio's 200-year-old National Museum on September 3, 2018.(Photo/Agencies)
