Publisher's Synopsis
What if you could look into the eyes of someone who lived 10,500 years ago?
Buried deep in a cave in Belgium, her skeleton lay untouched for over ten millennia. One of nine women interred with symbolic red ochre and stone fragments, her identity-and the secrets of her time-were lost to history. Until now.
When the Past Has a Face is a breathtaking fusion of science, archaeology, and storytelling that brings one ancient woman back to life-literally. Through the pioneering efforts of archaeogeneticists, osteologists, and forensic artists, readers will discover how modern science reconstructed the face of a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer and revealed astonishing truths about life in prehistoric Europe.
Inside this book, you'll explore:
- The groundbreaking excavation at Margaux Cave, and the mystery of a burial site containing only women.
- Life in Mesolithic Europe-a world of nomadic tribes, wild game, riverside camps, and ritualized death.
- How DNA analysis revealed unexpected features: blue eyes, lighter skin, and an ancient beauty lost to time.
- What her facial reconstruction tells us about our shared ancestry and the genetic diversity of early humans.
- The role of memory, burial, and belonging in prehistoric society.
- The global revolution of archaeogenetics and how it's rewriting human history
Perfect for fans of Sapiens, The Real Face of Jesus, or Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art, this book invites readers to step back through time and come face to face with a woman who should have been forgotten-but wasn't.
A true story of science, spirit, and rediscovery.
Her world is gone. But her face-and her legacy-live on.
When the past speaks, we must listen
