Dressed in a suit, this person would not look out of place in a busy street in a modern city. The clay sculpture, however, portrays the face of the earliest known modern European – a man or woman who hunted deer and gathered fruit and herbs in ancient forests more than 35,000 years ago. It was created by Richard Neave, one of Britain’s leading forensic scientists, using fossilised fragments of skull and jawbone found in a cave seven years ago. Forensic Scientist Richard Neave reconstructed the face based on skull fragments from 35,000 years ago The first modern European: Forensic artist Richard Neave reconstructed the face based on skull fragments from 35,000 years ago His recreation offers a tantalising glimpse into life before the dawn of civilisation. It also shows the close links between the first European settlers and their immediate African ancestors. To sculpt the head, Mr Neave called on his years of experience recreating the appearance of murder victims as well as using careful measurements of bone. It was made for the BBC2 series The Incredible Human Journey. This will follow the evolution of humans from the cradle of Africa to the […]