Oscar Nilsson is a Swedish sculptor and archaeologist who specializes in reconstructing faces. In one of his recent projects, he used his skills to hand-sculpt the faces of a handful of people who lived hundreds, some even thousands, of years ago using their excavated bones as a reference, giving us a unique glimpse of how those people might have looked like.
Oscar opened a company called O.D. Nilssons in the mid-90s that collaborates with various museums to help restore the faces of people whose remains were discovered during archaeological excavations. The artist says the human face and all of its details never ceases to fascinate him. “And all the faces I reconstruct are unique. They are all individuals,” writes the Oscar.
Check out his amazing sculptures in the gallery below!
#1 Huarmey Queen
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
The remains of this Wari woman, nicknamed Huarmey Queen, were discovered by Polish archeologists in the north-west of Peru back in 2012 along with 57 other noblewomen. They were all buried with lots of jewelry, gold, and expensive textiles. Archeologists examined her remains and determined that she had spent most of her time sitting, most likely weaving. This was further proven by the golden weaving tools found around her.
#2 A Young Woman Who Lived In The Stone Age About 5500 Years Ago
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This Stone Age girl died when she was around 20-years-old. Since she was buried with a baby on her chest, the cause of death was most likely childbirth. Even though DNA was not preserved too well, there’s enough proof that the people living in Brighton (United Kingdom) at the time weren’t white and their skin color was more similar to those of North Africans.
#3 Estrid Sigfastsdotter
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
Estrid Sigfastdotter was most likely a rich woman who lived in the XI century AD near Stockholm. What is unusual is that she was around 80-years-old at the time of her death – pretty impressive when life expectancy at the time was just 35.
#4 Adelasius Elbachus
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This young man, named Adelaziy Elbakhusom (Adelasius Ebalchus) by the researchers, lived in Switzerland in the VIII century AD. The man had beautiful teeth, which was rather unusual for the time. Sadly, judging by his skeleton, he was most likely malnourished and suffered from chronic infections.
#5 Neanderthal Woman
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
The remains of this Neanderthal woman were discovered in Gibraltar all the way back in 1848. She most likely lived about 45-50,000 years ago.
“Finally a few words on something I thought of and struggled with, as I saw this Neanderthal face take shape. How “human” should this face appear? They were not Homo Sapiens after all. I came to the conclusion that she must have a human glimpse in her eyes. As recent research show, Europeans share around 2-4 % DNA with Neanderthals. So they must have been so much alike us, otherwise, the offspring would not have been fertile,” wrote Oscar. “It is interesting to see how the image of the Neanderthals has changed over the years: from being a drooling savage to a highly-skilled competitor to us. Worth to note is also that this new image coincides with the insight that we Europeans share 2-4% DNA with the Neanderthals.”
#6 Viking
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This Swedish Viking lived sometime around the beginning of the XI century. He died at the age of 45.
#7 Primitive Neolithic
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This man lived about 5,500 years ago, was aged 25 to 40 years old, and, judging by the analysis of his skeleton, was of a rather slender build.
#8 This Is The Face Of A Teenager Who Lived 9,000 Years Ago
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This 18-year-old girl, nicknamed Avgi, lived in modern-day Greece at 7000 years before Christ.
#9 A Man Who Lived In Britain In The Saxon Era
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
Judging by the bone structure, this man was most likely quite burly-built. He most likely lost a lot of teeth due to abscesses, as well as a part of his upper jaw. The traces of injuries suggest that he might have been a soldier. He died being around 45 years old.
#10 A Man Who Lived In The Iron Age In Britain
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This Iron Age man from Britain lived about 2,400 years ago. He was well-built but, sadly, died aged between 24 and 31 years old. His hair is styled in a hairstyle the Germanic tribes called “Suebian knot”.
#11 Birger Jarl
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
Birger Jarl was the ruler of Sweden from 1248 until his death on Oct. 1, 1266, in Västergötland, Sweden.
#12 Woman Of Romano-British Descent
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
The remains of this woman suggest that she worked hard physical labor during her lifetime and died being between 25 and 35 years old.
#13 A Man Who Lived About 3,700 Years Ago In The Bronze Age
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
This malnourished and anemic man lived about 3,700 years ago and died being between 25 and 35 years old.
#14 The Medieval Middle-Aged Man From The Middle Of Sweden Is Finished
Image source: Oscar Nilsson
“Finally, the reconstruction of the medieval middle-aged man from the middle of Sweden is finished. Although now it turns out he may not be that medieval after all. C14-results indicates that he is from somewhere during the period of 1470-1630,” writes Oscar. “However, analysis of his skeleton shows that he suffered from so-called os acromiale, a defect in the bones of the shoulder with a clear connection to heavy use of longbow-shooting! So, maybe it is possible to narrow the time span to 1470-1540, as longbows gradually fell out of fashion to use during the mid 16th century.”
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