The face of a man murdered in the Scottish Highlands around 1,400 years ago has been digitally reconstructed, helping anthropologists and forensic scientists solve how his grisly death came about. One thing is for certain: Don’t mess with 6th-century tattooed Scottish Highlanders.
The remarkably well-preserved skeletal remains were found buried in a cave around the Black Isle in eastern Scotland. Along with finding evidence that the cave had been used for iron-smithing, they unearthed a skeleton that appeared to have been placed on his back in a cross-legged position with his limbs weighed down with heavy beach rocks.
Radiocarbon dating of the bones showed that he died sometime between 430 and 630 CE. This would have meant he was part of the Picts, a collective of tribes in Scotland who repelled the conquests of both Romans and Angles up until the 10th century CE. They were named “the Picts” by the Romans, which derives from the term “painted or tattooed ones.”
Analysis showed massive fractures to his face and skull, which indicated at least five heavy blunt force impacts.
“The first impact was by a circular cross-section implement that broke his teeth on the right side,” Project leader and forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black explained a statement. “The second may have been the same implement, used like a fighting stick, which broke his jaw on the left. The third resulted in fracturing to the back of his head as he fell from the blow to his jaw with a tremendous force possibly onto a hard object perhaps stone.”
It didn’t stop there.
“The fourth impact was intended to end his life as probably the same weapon was driven through his skull from one side and out the other as he lay on the ground,“ she contiuned. "The fifth was not in keeping with the injuries caused in the other four where a hole, larger than that caused by the previous weapon, was made in the top of the skull.”
The cherry on top of this study is the digital reconstruction of the face by the CAHID team, created through a blend of anatomical science, anthropology, forensic art, and imaging technology.
How this man’s final days played out remains a mystery to the researchers. However, further excavations of the cave and more detailed analysis of the bones hopes to provide the forensic anthropologists with some answers.
Excavation leader Steven Birch speculated: “While we don’t know why the man was killed, the placement of his remains gives us insight into the culture of those who buried him. Perhaps his murder was the result of interpersonal conflict; or was there a sacrificial element relating to his death?”
Inostrancevialatifrons, or as I like to call it, a lizard with a bit of a thing for bears, caught in the middle of a profound identity crisis.
There’s not a whole lot to say here. It’s a big fuck-off gorgonopsid, what you see is pretty much what you get. I’ve covered the sabres with lips because… come on.
I can’t help but wonder why gorgonopsid chins were always so big…
Well they’re no reindeer, but these extinct Pleistocene Stag-moose (Cervalces scotti) were the largest deer species to ever live in North America, and died out only 10,000 years ago.
Life sized adult and calf reconstruction for Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum.
Please answer: Is this really all fake? Because it looks like a real but modified moose. Everything down to the loose hairs in the fur, is so real. :O
by Cameron Moon, Preservation Coordinator, the Drayton Hall Preservation Trust As work begins on the new visitor center, preparations to repurpose the historic caretaker’s house into an interpretive exhibit are underway. While the postbellum period and the 20th century are not periods of primary significance at Drayton Hall, these years were pivotal for the preservation of the property. Phosphate…
I keep seeing the phrase “when the news finally reached Texas” in reference to Juneteenth. Let’s be super clear. White people in Texas knew slavery was over. They just chose not to tell the Black people. Juneteenth was when the Black people finally found out. History is so whitewashed that we accept the euphemisms as gospel. It didn’t take 2 ½ years for the messenger to bring the news. The rest of the Union didn’t forget to tell Texas. White Texans just got away with keeping their slavery way of life for 2 extra years and nobody said shit. Hell yes, #Juneteenth should be a federal fucking holiday, but ALSO we should be teaching #CriticalRaceTheory in our schools so we don’t get watered down versions of history.
