The human skull has changed significantly over time. Think of the Neanderthal skull, with its large middle face, angled cheekbones, hefty brow ridges and huge nose. Neanderthal skeletons look recognisably human but contain not-too-subtle differences that remind us of how fundamentally different earlier types of human beings once appeared. Over the past 10,000 years, as the Ice Ages receded, the bodies and faces of most large animals grew smaller, including humans. Our brains shrank slightly too. Humans no longer depended as much on large jaws because we began to chew softer, more processed foods than our predecessors. Some scientists even believe that our faces are generally smaller than those of humans living only 300 years ago.1
A typical Neanderthal skull.
Skulls are useful for protecting our brains and housing our facial muscles. Faces have a crucial psychological function for humans. They are central to perception, cognition and behaviour. The uniqueness of each and every one of our faces makes us singularly identifiable to others. We rely heavily upon facial recognition to remember the myriad of individuals we encounter throughout our lives. As our brains perceive, process and remember faces, they also guide the presumptions we make about other people’s behaviours and personalities. It’s for such reasons that skulls, heads and faces have acquired such symbolic importance in human culture. This symbolism also helps explain why many figures of historical importance ended up having their heads brutally removed.
CLONYCAVAN MAN’S HEAD
While gazing upon the remains of Clonycavan Man, our neural pathways recognise a human face. The remnants of his facial features automatically prompt our brain to process the neural mechanisms of face perception. So, when looking at him, we start to pose fundamental questions. What type of person was Clonycavan Man? What was his personality like? How did he behave? How did he live his life? Faces are very communicative, explaining why Clonycavan Man’s contorted expressions, the apparent eye-to-eye contact and the preserved mouth and ears all unnerve the observer. His ancient facial expression looks far from happy, encouraging us to empathise with the pathos and sadness of a man being brutally murdered.2
Clonycavan Man is one of Ireland’s oldest faces. His head is contorted and flattened due to the weight of the peat and his skull having dissolved in the bog. Nonetheless, in the 2000s a team of forensic anthropologists and artists used a state-of-the-art computer system to recreate his facial appearance. He looks surprisingly modern. His hair sweeps backwards from the front to form a bun on top of the head, in a tall arrangement. He also had short stubble above and below his lip and under his chin, resembling a moustache and goatee beard. Remnants of a hair tie were found too.3
The reconstructed face of Clonycavan Man.
Visitors find themselves curiously drawn to the hair still appended to Clonycavan Man’s skull. Human hair is simply not meant to survive through the millennia. It is an extremely rare occurrence when ancient hair becomes miraculously visible to us. In 1780, the Drumkeeragh body was discovered in Co. Down, the remains of an ancient woman found by surveyors near Drumkeeragh Mountai
