Scientists 'reconstruct' Skyrim skeleton's face, looks like Iggy Pop
Ancestral Whispers(opens in new tab) is an organisation that, among other projects, specialises in facial reconstructions of prehistoric humans. Its software is based on the pioneering methods of Soviet archaeologist and anthropologist Mikhail Gerasimov, and essentially is able to layer soft tissue over a given cranial structure—and produce a representation of what that human being may have looked like. Its website is full of examples of serious archaeology, genetic and historical maps, and is a fascinating rabbit-hole to get lost in.
Even scientists need downtime, though, and one of the members of Ancestral Whispers, @Sulkalmakh(opens in new tab), recently posted a reconstruction of «an ancient Atmoran from Saarthal, dated to the late Merethic era» (thanks GamesRadar+(opens in new tab)).
Facial reconstruction of an ancient Atmoran from Saarthal, dated to the late Merethic Era. pic.twitter.com/jz8R5IgsT7April 1, 2022
Yes: it's a Skyrim skeleton that's had soft tissue 'reconstructed' around it. Atmora is a continent in the Elder Scrolls world while Saarthal is the ruined former capital of Skyrim: and it's now a tomb so you find plenty of skeletons there. The 'Merethic era' is also an Elder Scrolls period of time, not a real-world one.
Turns out humans from the 'Merethic era'—when life in Atmora was less boney—looked a lot like Iggy Pop. Maybe a bit less gaunt.
One of the nicest elements of this is that the artist who designed these skeletons saw the reconstruction. «Ha! I literally designed the skeletons from Skyrim,» writes Jonah Lobe. «You did an AWESOME JOB with the reconstruction. I wanted them to look thuggish, thick-jawed, thick-browed and sort of Neanderthal-like. This is THAT.
»Since they were going to be
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