Scientific facial reconstruction of 1 mln-year-old ancient human fossil unveiled in C. China

The world's first scientific facial reconstruction case based on the "Yunxian Man" skull fossils dating back approximately 1 million years was unveiled by Hubei Provincial Museum on Thursday, providing a view on Chinese ancient ancestors as a major milestone in paleoanthropology, according to China News Service (CNS).

Professor Feng Xiaobo from the School of History and Culture at Shanxi University explained that the research team used a high-precision industrial-grade scanner to conduct multiple scans of the "Yunxian Man" skull fossils No. 1 and No. 2, scientifically and accurately reconstructing the models of these skull fossils, as reported by CNS.

Based on the skull structure and anatomical principles of the human head and face, the team used sculpting, painting, and other imaging technologies to add details including eyes, nose, mouth and hair, effectively reconstructing the facial appearance of these ancient humans.

According to the study, the No. 1 skull fossil belongs to a female aged between 25 and 45, dating back to 1 million years, while the No. 2 skull fossil belongs to a male of the same age and from the same era.

Feng noted that the restoration of the "Yunxian Man" appearance primarily focused on two key issues: the precise measurement of soft tissue thickness on the human head and the correlation between skull morphology and soft tissue shape. The research involved interdisciplinary collaboration among paleoanthropologists, forensic experts, 3D reconstruction specialists and experts in Paleolithic archaeology.

The "Yunxian Man" skull fossils are the most complete ancient human skull fossils originating from the same era discovered so far in the inland of Eurasia. They have filled a gap in the human evolutionary timeline from the Yuanmou Man, to the Lantian Man and the Peking Man, covering a missing 1-million-year period. This discovery provides crucial evidence for studying the evolution of East Asian Homo erectus.

Wang Xianfu, a deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Museum, noted that the research provides significant support for exploring the evolutionary model of East Asian ancient humans, the origin of East Asian Homo erectus, and the evolutionary relationship between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. It also plays a critical role in validating the history of human evolution over 1 million years on Chinese soil and telling the story of the evolution and cultural development of the ancient inhabitants of the Eastern mankind, as reported by CNS.

In 1989, a team of cultural relic surveyors discovered the No. 1 ancient human skull fossil in Yunxian, Central China's Hubei Province. The No. 2 skull fossil was uncovered the following year at the same site. Renowned paleoanthropologist Jia Lanpo named the fossils "Yunxian Man" based on the geographical location of the excavation site. 

Based on the skull features, the skulls were classified as belonging to Homo erectus, specifically to "Yunxian Homo erectus." In 2022, a third ancient human skull fossil was found at the same stratigraphic level, dating back 1 million years.

The reconstruction project began in June 2017 and it took nearly eight years of research to achieve preliminary results.