Faces Of Hundred-Year-Old Columbian Mummies Reconstructed

One of the most reputable facial reconstruction labs in the world just brought the faces behind four funerary masks back to vivid life, revealing the extraordinary craftsmanship of Eastern Colombia between the 13th and 17th centuries.

For a new study, archaeologists from Face Lab at Liverpool John Moore University unmasked four mummies from the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History. The way pre-Colombian cultures of South America crafted these masks allowed them to fuse with the remains, so that "the bodies seemed to be alive," according to The Independent.

With their faces so permanently and impressively preserved within the interior of the funerary masks, researchers were able to reconstruct the damaged masks without physically removing them, breathing new life into the unreachable past.

A researcher from Face Lab told The Independent that the project "highlights the cultural practices of the indigenous peoples of South America," and will hopefully draw more interest towards these "incredible civilizations."

Firstly, the masks are extraordinary examples of craftsmanship, "the one ones known to exist in Colombia," The Independent continued, due to their ability to fuse with the face, leaving a permanent imprint that survived the test of time.

Ancient Origins reports that the masks were discovered in graves that had been looted, so they couldn’t provide any context beyond who they belonged to.

The four masks, respectively, sat on the faces of a 6 to 7-year-old child, a female in her 60s, and two young adult males, as per Live Science. These stylized masks were made of resin, clay, and maize with touches of gold and beads around the eyes. They were found in the Eastern Cordillera, a region in the Colombian Andes, and are thought to date between 1216 and 1797 AD.

According to Ancient Origins, they were formed directly on the anterior of the skull, and covered the entire face and jaw. Given that they were crafted on their faces, it attests to the skill that the funerary artist possessed.

The Face Lab team digitally "peeled back" the masks to reveal the face and used CT X-ray scans to capture 3D images of it.

The Independent explained that they took 2D images of each sample and then analyzed the scans to reconstruct their faces. A software enabled them to add facial tissue, and "a haptic touch stylus pen," Live Science said, allowed them to "virtually sculpt" muscles onto the digital skulls.

Ancient Origins added that they went so far as to utilize facial measurements of Colombian men living today, which they couldn’t do for the female or child, so they had to use their own expertise in anatomy, which the craftsmen did, to fill in the missing details.

"We used a digital sculpting process to rebuild each face. With the help of a stylus and specialized software, we digitally recreated muscle, skin, and fat onto the skulls." Dr. Jessica Liu, project manager at Face Lab told Ancient Origins.