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A famous, 9,000-year-old human skull discovered near the biblical city of Jericho now has a new face, thanks to efforts by a multi-national team of researchers.

The so-called Jericho Skull — one of seven unearthed by British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon in 1953 and currently housed in the British Museum in London — was found covered in plaster and with shells for eyes, apparently in an attempt to make it look more lifelike.

This prehistoric design was “the first facial reconstruction in the world,” Brazilian graphics expert Cícero Moraes (opens in new tab) , the leader of the project, told Live Science in an email.

In 2016, the British Museum released precise measurements of the Jericho Skull (opens in new tab) , based on a micro-computed tomography, or micro-CT — effectively a very detailed X-ray scan. The measurements were then used to create a virtual 3D model of the skull, and the model was used to make an initial facial approximation.

But the new approximation, published online on Dec. 22 in the journal OrtogOnline (opens in new tab) , uses different techniques to determine how the face may have looked, and goes further by artistically adding head and facial hair. 

Related: 30 amazing facial reconstructions, from stone age shamans to King Tut’s father

Although the skull was initially thought to be female, later observations determined it belonged to a male individual, Moraes said, so the new approximation shows the face of a dark-haired man in his 30s or 40s. (Based on how a lesion on the skull has healed, archaeologists suggest he was “middle-aged” by today’s standards when he died.)

An initial facial reconstruction was made from the anatomy of the skull in 2016, but the new reconstruction uses advanced digital techniques. (Image credit: Cicero Moraes/Thiago Beaini/Moacir Santos)

An unusual feature of the British Museum’s Jericho Skull is that the cranium, or upper skull, is significantly larger than average, Moraes said. 

In addition, the skull seems to have been artificially elongated when the man was very young, probably by tightly binding it; some of the other plastered skulls found by Kenyon (opens in new tab) also show signs of this, but the reason isn’t known.Jericho skulls

Jericho, now a Palestinian city in the West Bank, is thought to be one of the oldest settlements in the world. 

It appears in the biblical Book of Joshua as the first Canaanite city attacked by the Israelites after they crossed the Jordan River in about 1400 B.C. According to the biblical story, Jericho’s walls collapsed after Joshua ordered the Israelites to circle the city for seven days while carrying the Ark of the Covenant, and then to blow their trumpets and shout.

But archaeological research has failed to find any evidence of this event, and it’s now thought to be Judean propaganda, according to historians writing in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (opens in new tab) (Eerdmans, 2000).

The new facial reconstruction used new techniques developed by the researchers and derived from new anatomical studies and statistical projections from 3D X-ray scans of living people. (Image credit: Cicero Moraes/Thiago Beaini/Moacir Santos)

Archaeologists have determined, however, that Jericho has been continually inhabited for about 11,000 years; and in 1953 Kenyon excavated seven skulls at a site near the ancient city.

Each had been encased in plaster, and the spaces inside the skulls were packed with earth. They also had cowrie seashells placed over their eye sockets, and some had traces of brown paint.

Kenyon speculated that the skulls might be portraits of some of Jericho’s earliest inhabitants; but more than 50 plastered skulls from about the same period have since been found throughout the region, and it’s now thought they are relics of a funerary practice, according to a study (opens in new tab) by Denise Schmandt-Besserat, a professor emerita of Art and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Image 1 of 3The skull is one of seven discovered by the British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon near the ancient city of Jericho in 1953. It’s now thought to be a relic of a common funerary practice at the time it was made, about 9,500 years ago. (Image credit: The Trustees of the British Museum) The skull is now held by the British Museum in London, and the latest facial reconstruction is based on precise photographs of it published in 2016. (Image credit: Cicero Moraes/Thiago Beaini/Moacir Santos) The techniques used by the researchers are also used to plan plastic surgeries and manufacture artificial body parts. (Image credit: Cicero Moraes/Thiago Beaini/Moacir Santos) New approximation

Moraes said he’s been unable to find many details of the 2016 facial approximation, but it seems to have used what’s known as the Manchester method (opens in new tab) , which has been developed since 1977 and is based on forensic analyses. 

It is now widely used for facial approximations, especially of the victims of crimes.

The latest approximation, however, used a different approach, which is based on anatomical deformation and statistical projections derived from computed tomography (CT) scans— thousands of X-ray scans knitted together to create a 3D image — of living people, he said.RELATED STORIES—12,000 Years Ago, a Boy Had His Skull Squashed into a Cone Shape. It’s the Oldest Evidence of Such Head-Shaping.

—Deformed ‘alien’ skulls offer clues about life during the Roman Empire’s collapse

—Ancient surgical implant or modern-day fake? Peru skull leaves mystery.

The techniques are also used to plan plastic surgeries and in the manufacturing of prostheses (artificial body parts), but neither were used in the 2016 study, he said.

“I wouldn’t say ours is an update, it’s just a different approach,” he said. But “there is greater structural, anatomical and statistical coherence.” 

Moraes hopes to carry out digital approximations of other plastered skulls from the region, but so far only the precise measurements of the Jericho Skull in the British Museum have been published. “There is a lot of mystery around this material,” Moraes said. “Thanks to new technologies we are discovering new things about the pieces, but there is still a lot to be studied.”

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

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Hagel suspended for Game 3 due to hit on Barkov

Tampa Bay Lightning winger Brandon Hagel was suspended one game by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday night for what it labeled “an extremely forceful body check to an unsuspecting opponent” that injured Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov.

Hagel will miss Saturday’s Game 3 in Sunrise, Florida. The Panthers lead the series 2-0.

Around midway through the third period of Thursday’s Game 2, Tampa Bay was on the power play while trailing 1-0. Barkov pressured defenseman Ryan McDonagh deep in the Lightning zone. With the puck clearly past Barkov, Hagel lined him up for a huge hit that sent the Panthers captain to the ice and thumping off the end boards.

A penalty was whistled, and the officials conferred before calling a “five-minute penalty.” After review, Hagel was given a 5-minute major for interference. Barkov left the game with 10:09 remaining in regulation and did not return to the Panthers’ 2-0 win.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said after the game that he didn’t expect Hagel to receive a major penalty for the hit.

“Refs make the call. I was a little surprised it was a five, but it was,” he said.

The NHL ruled that Hagel’s hit made “some head contact” on Barkov.

“It’s important to note that Barkov is never in possession of the puck on this play and is therefore not eligible to be checked in any manner,” the league said.

In the Friday hearing, held remotely, Hagel argued that he approached the play anticipating that Barkov would play the puck. But the Department of Player Safety said the onus was on Hagel to ensure that Barkov was eligible to be checked. It also determined that the hit had “sufficient force” for supplemental discipline.

It’s Hagel’s first suspension in 375 regular-season and 36 playoff games. He was fined for boarding Florida’s Eetu Luostarinen in May 2022.

The Panthers held an optional skate Friday. Coach Paul Maurice said Barkov “hasn’t been ruled out yet” but “hasn’t been cleared” for Game 3.

“He’s an irreplicable player,” Panthers defenseman Seth Jones said of Barkov. “One of the best centermen in the league. He’s super important to our team.”

The Lightning lose Hagel while they struggle to score in the series; they scored two goals in Game 1 and were shut out in Game 2. Tampa Bay was the highest-scoring team in the regular season (3.56), with Hagel contributing 35 goals and 55 assists in 82 games.

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

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Goalies Montembeault, Dobes leave Caps-Habs

The Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens lost their starting goalies because of injuries in Game 3 of their first-round series Friday night.

Canadiens starter Sam Montembeault was replaced by rookie Jakub Dobes, who made his playoff debut, in the second period. Capitals starter Logan Thompson left late in the third period after a collision with teammate Dylan Strome.

The Canadiens won 6-3 to cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Montembeault left the crease with 8:21 remaining in the second period and the score tied 2-2. Replays showed him reaching for the back of his left leg after making a save on Capitals defenseman Alex Alexeyev. Montembeault had stopped 11 of 13 shots. For the series, he stopped 58 of 63 shots (.921 save percentage) with a 2.49 goals-against average.

Dobes, 23, was 7-4-3 in 16 games for the Canadiens in the regular season with a .909 save percentage. Dobes had a win over the Capitals on Jan. 10, stopping 15 shots in a 3-2 overtime win.

Thompson was helped from the ice by a trainer and teammates after Strome collided with him with 6:37 left in regulation right after Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky made it a 5-3 Montreal lead. Thompson attempted to skate off on his own but couldn’t put weight down on his left leg.

Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren replaced Thompson, who had been outstanding for the Capitals in the first two games of the series, winning both with a .951 save percentage and a 1.47 goals-against average. He made 30 saves on 35 shots in Game 3.

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