Scientists have created a digital reconstruction of the face of one of the oldest known representatives of Homo sapiens, who lived in what is now Morocco about 315,000 years ago.
The reconstruction was made based on fossils from the archaeological site of Jebel Irhoud, which contains some of the oldest remains attributed to the modern human species. The results are published in the scientific journal Heritage.
The team, led by Brazilian 3D reconstruction specialist Cicero Moraes, used digital technologies to reconstruct the structure of the skull and approximate soft tissues of the face.
The resulting color portrait shows a man with dark skin, black hair, a thick beard, deep-set eyes, a wide nose and full lips. However, the scientists emphasize that some of these characteristics, including the color of the skin, hair and beard, cannot be determined directly from the fossils and represent a scientifically based visual interpretation.
Un equipo internacional de investigadores logró reconstruir digitalmente el rostro de un homínido de Jebel Irhoud, en Marruecos, cuyos fósiles tienen aproximatena 315.000 años.
Para recrearlo, los científicos utilizaron aproximación facial forense, fotogrametía y modelado… pic.twitter.com/vyYQEd7jTB
The skull, known as Irhoud 1, was discovered in the 1960s during mining activities in Jebel Irhoud. Initially, the remains were considered significantly younger and were associated with Neanderthals.
New research is changing this picture. In 2017, an international team of scientists dated the Jebel Irhoud fossils to approximately 315,000 years ago and identified them as early Homo sapiens.
The discovery is also important for understanding human evolution, as it shows that early members of our species lived in North Africa much earlier than was assumed in older models of the origin of Homo sapiens.
For the new facial reconstruction, the scientists combined 3D scans, photographs and video footage of Irhoud 1 with data from jaws and teeth found at the same archaeological site. This created a detailed 3D model of the skull.
The researchers then used an anatomical model of a modern human, which they digitally adapted to the shape of the ancient remains. On top of it, approximate layers of muscle, fat, and skin have been added.
What early Homo sapiens might have looked like
The team created two versions of the face. The first is a scientific grayscale reconstruction designed to show the relationship between the skull structure and the reconstructed soft tissues. The second is a realistic color portrait with skin, hair, and beard. This is where more artistic interpretation is possible.
Digital Facial Approximation of Jebel Irhoud Composite Skull (~315,000 BP).
Moraes et al. (2026). pic.twitter.com/h6GLWjVxQD
The authors caution that the fossils do not allow for reliable determination of hairstyle, facial hair, exact skin color, and other features of appearance. These details were added based on anthropological data and are intended to show a plausible, rather than proven, image of a person who lived in North Africa more than 300,000 years ago.
There is another important limitation. The model should not be taken as an accurate portrait of a specific prehistoric person. Some of the fossil material used to complete the reconstruction comes from different individuals from Jebel Irhoud.
The digital face is therefore more of a scientific visualization of early Homo sapiens, based on available anatomical information, than a photographic equivalent of a person who lived 315,000 years ago.