New documentary reveals face of 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq — A new documentary has reconstructed the face of a 75,000-year-old female Neanderthal whose flattened skull was pieced together by archaeologists and conservators led by University of Cambridge excavations in Mosul, northern Iraq. Fragments of the skull were found in the cave of Shanidar, an archaeological site on Bradost Mountain, within the Zagros Mountains in the Erbil Governorate of Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).

The significance of this discovery lies in the fact that the skull of a Neanderthal woman was found in northern Iraq.

After many years, researchers worked on the skull until they succeeded in forming a three-dimensional digital representation of the woman’s head and face.

Secrets of the Neanderthals, produced by BBC Studios Science Unit, has been released on Netflix worldwide.

The documentary follows the team led by the universities of Cambridge and Liverpool John Moores as they return to Shanidar Cave to continue excavations.

“The skulls of Neanderthals and humans look very different,” stated Dr. Emma Pomeroy, a paleoanthropologist from Cambridge’s Department of Archaeology, who features in the new film.

The discovery of the skull was made in 2015 at the same site.

The researcher believes that this skull could help them understand the nature of Neanderthals and their living conditions.

She noted that the research conducted on the Neanderthal woman’s teeth confirm that she was unable to eat, and some infections and gum diseases were the cause of her death.