A University of Otago team has re-created the face of a
2500-year-old Turkish peasant, its second such project, and
hopes its technology will be used in courts in coming years.
University of Otago senior lecturer in anatomy and structural
biology Dr George Dias, who heads the group, the only one in
New Zealand doing facial reconstructions, hoped to refine the
technology to a standard where it would stand scrutiny in
court, and act like a fingerprint for identification.
"Within the next few years, we will reach that point," he
said.
The team's latest project, putting a face on a skull found in
Turkey, has advanced on its first project, reconstructing the
face of a 2300-year-old Egyptian mummy housed at Otago
Museum. That face was revealed last year.
The latest reconstruction has silicone skin, rather than
plaster, real hair, and eyes which have been aged with red
veins.
A mathematical model was created with Associate Prof I. M.
Premachandra, of the department of finance and qualitative
analysis, to provide accurate soft-tissue facial depths,
based on bone measurements.
Traditionally, facial depth averages were based on race, but
not every person of a particular race had a certain face, so
the science was flawed, Dr Dias said.
Dr Dias travelled to Turkey last year, after a request from
Anadolu University, with which Otago has an ongoing
collaboration, for a facial reconstruction for a body
uncovered during an archaeological dig in Kultepe, a site
that was on the crossroads of east-west and north-south trade
routes.
The woman is believed to have been aged between 35 and 50
when she died. The most fascinating aspect was the state of
her teeth, which were immaculate, at a time when teeth were
cleaned with sticks.
The reconstruction can be viewed at the St David St Lecture
Theatre today and tomorrow, before it goes on permanent
display in Istanbul.
- ellie.constantine@odt.co.nz
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