Researchers Recreated The Appearance Of A Stone Age Man Who Died By Drowning 4,000 Years Ago

Around 4,000 years ago, a prehistoric man from the Stone Age died by drowning. His remains were excavated in Norway in 1916.
Now, a team of researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim has recreated the man’s appearance based on his DNA and his skeletal remains.
The man’s body was found on the island of Hitra, which is located off the west coast of Norway. A group of workers had been repairing a road that led to a farm when they made the discovery.
An analysis revealed that the man had been in his mid-20s at the time of his death. He died toward the tail end of the Stone Age, about 4,000 years ago.
Back then, the sea levels in the area where he died were much higher than they are today. The site in which his remains were discovered would have been more than 13 feet underwater. So, archaeologists believe that he might have drowned.
“Parts of the skeleton are well-preserved and must have been covered with shell sand on the seabed shortly after he died,” said Birgitte Skar, an archaeologist with NTNU University.
Experts gathered that the man was approximately five feet and six inches tall. Thanks to DNA analyses of other individuals with similar genetic profiles from the same time period, they were able to reconstruct his hair, skin, and eyes. The man once had blue eyes and fair hair.
In addition, a few artifacts were unearthed alongside his body, including a dagger and an arm guard, which suggested that he was a warrior.
Currently, it is unclear whether the man died from drowning or while in combat. During the time he was alive, the region he lived in was undergoing significant societal shifts.

alexugalek – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
More specifically, agriculture was just being introduced to the area. The changes may have led to violence.
“We believe that agriculture was introduced by migrating people who arrived in Norway to get more land—and they were willing to use weapons to do so. We must, therefore, expect that there were violent clashes between the people who already lived there and the newcomers,” Skar said.
Analyzing the man from Hitra, as well as other human remains, will help researchers learn more about this particular period of turbulence that occurred in the Scandinavian region.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:News