Lime plaster was the first product that entailed the intentional chemical alteration of materials and the complete control over their properties. The occurrences of lime products in numerous Levantine sites have raised questions concerning their methods of production, their role in the development of craft specialization and their social and economic implications. But the face of this person that had been so carefully modeled in plaster over 9,500 years ago remained unknown.During the last two decades, considerable interest has been expressed in the development of lime and lime plaster products in the Near Eastern Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB). Studies of the scan results gave Curator Alexandra Fletcher details about how this person may have lived – his health, diet, and religious practices. The most striking feature found from the Micro-CT scan was the man’s head shape – varying thicknesses of bone indicated his head was tightly bound as an infant, permanently changing its shape. His nose had also been broken, but this injury had healed before he died. He had broken teeth that were badly decayed, and abscesses that must have caused him pain. The team found out that the skull belonged to a man who was over 40 years old when he died. The detailed imaging revealed some surprising facts about this individual’s life. This type of non-invasive scan allowed the research team to see the interior of the skull, and digitally remove the layers of plaster and soil. © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum.įortunately, progress was made in 2009 when the skull went to the Natural History Museum for a Micro-CT scan. Museum Curator Alexandra Fletcher brought together a team of researchers in order to discover more about the skull – experts in studying human remains, digital imaging and 3D modelling.Ī Micro-CT scan at the Natural History Museum in London provided amazing new insights. It’s thought they were safely reburied as portraits of community forebears long after their individual identities were forgotten.įinding out more about the person underneath the plaster was challenging – the soil packing the inside of the cranium meant little internal detail could be made out using conventional X-rays. Initially each plastered skull would have been a known individual, but as time passed they likely became ancestor figures who may have been worshipped. Mourning the dead was one of the shared rituals that helped bind the society together. Some showed traces of paint.Īt the time this person was alive, around 9,500 years ago, Jericho was one of the largest settlements in the Middle East. The skulls she found had been decorated with plaster to recreate human faces, and had shells as eyes. Kenyon thought that the skulls were portraits of some of the earliest people to live at Jericho, and was thrilled with this new discovery. The Jericho Skull was discovered among a group of seven other skulls in 1953 by archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon – you can learn more about the surprising discovery in our podcast.
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