forensic science It is key to solving crimes, but it can also be applied to clarify murders that occurred many centuries ago. This is what happened with a case that took place in Denmark 5,600 years ago.
The skeleton of Porsmose Man was found in 1946, in a peat bog near Næstved, Denmarkwith arrows still embedded in the skull and sternum.
Now, His face can be seen for the first time since his mysterious death, after scientists investigating his murder reconstructed his image from his bones.
In the process, they revealed something counter-intuitive: that the fatal arrow was not the one stuck in his face, but the one that was in his chest.
Forensic facial reconstructions generally deal with reconstructing the living faces of the dead using their skulls. But Cicero Moraes, lead author of the new study, said this reconstruction was unique, since it captured the death of the subject: “The objective generally is to know what the individual’s face was like,” he said in statements collected by the Daily Mail.
“But in this work we were also interested in knowing what injuries could have occurred in the anatomical structure,” added the artist. “While the arrow to the face is visually shocking and uncomfortable, and could be fatal depending on the situation, It was the one that hit the chest that damaged important structures“says Moraes.
The study revealed that the fatal arrow, made of bone, had probably penetrated the brachiocephalic vein, the aortic arch and pulmonary vein right of the man, killing him.
To complete their work, the authors began by virtually reconstructing the bones of Porsmose Man, using photographs and measurement data.
“We then reconstructed the face using forensic techniques, creating a bust that included the areas hit by arrowheads. In the chest area, where an arrow hit the sternum, we also reconstructed some other bones and the circulatory system. In this way it was possible to evaluate where the fatal arrow had passed,” Moraes added.
At the time of his death, the Porsmose man had between 35 and 40 years old and was approximately 1.66 m tall. Mystery surrounds the circumstances of his murder, but after he was shot in the face and chest, his body fell into the water or was dumped there. It will never be known if he was executed, killed or fell in battle.
A farmer murdered
The National Museum of Denmark, which houses his remains, imagines him as a murdered farmer in a post on social media.
“While everyone is fast asleep, strangers enter the house. The dogs growl, but they silence them with sticks. Strangers break into the yard and set fire to the thatched roofs of the houses,” they say.
“He wakes up the family and takes his axe. Together they escape from the burning house. But chaos reigns outside and he loses sight of his children. He sees one of the strangers leaving with his wife. He runs after him with the axe high. But then you feel a stabbing pain in your chest and the light disappears,” the text continues.
“When the next arrow hits his face, he is already on his way to the eternal cornfields of your ancestors“, they conclude.
The Brazilian team behind the new study is made up of Cicero Moraesthe forensic dentist Thiago Beaini from the University of Uberlândia, the dental surgeon Janaina Paiva Curi and the physiotherapist Lisa Moura and published their study in the journal OrtogOnLineMag.
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