Beijing, China

Archaeologists recovered ancient DNA from the remains of a sixth-century Chinese emperor who was a ruler during the dark ages of the country and reconstructed the face of the king.

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Emperor Wu ruled a part of the Northern Zhou dynasty in China. He is credited to have carried out the unification of ancient China's northern part during a chaotic period.

In 1996, archaeologists discovered a tomb in northwestern China. In a study which was published in the journal Current Biology on Thursday (Mar 28), the researchers studied the genetic material retrieved from his remains, which included an almost complete skull.

The archaeologists looked into the information to understand the monarch's appearance, health and ancestry.

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According to the archaeologists, the emperor was part of a little-studied nomadic group known as the Xianbei and stayed in the area which today is a part of northern and northeastern China and Mongolia.

The experts analysed the genome sequenced from the DNA which suggested that Wu had black hair, brown eyes, and dark skin colour.

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In a press release, study co-author and an associate professor at Fudan University in Shanghai Shaoqing Wen said, “Some scholars said the Xianbei had ‘exotic’ looks, such as thick beard, high nose bridge, and yellow hair."

“Our analysis shows Emperor Wu had typical East or Northeast Asian facial characteristics," he added.

Archaeologists hope to decode king's cause of death

The experts have been hoping that the ancient DNA may also reveal the cause of the death of King Wu. As per the study, he died suddenly at age 36.

If his demise is explained, it will help historians rework historical texts around either illness or deliberate poisoning.

The team failed to discover any definitive evidence of the reason for his death. The researchers, however, said that they found a genetic susceptibility to stroke.

Ancient DNA techniques are being increasingly applied by archaeologists to find information regarding bones, teeth, artefacts and cave dirt.

The genetic information derived from the remains - which included the skull of Wu - was used by the team to imagine how he appeared and created a 3D facial reconstruction of the king.

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Tobias Houlton, a lecturer in craniofacial identification and forensic imaging at the University of Dundee said, “The study … offers intriguing insights into the historical figure of Emperor Wu, with the facial approximation presented appearing convincingly realistic."

“(Skin, hair and eye) colour details are notably not possible to predict from skeletal remains alone, making genetic analysis an insightful tool," he added while speaking to CNN.

(With inputs from agencies)