Norway

A prehistoric man, believed to have drowned around 4,000 years ago, has been reconstructed to show his likely appearance during his lifetime. A team from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim created this image using measurements of his skeletal remains and DNA data.

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The remains were first discovered in 1916 on the island of Hitra, located off Norway's west coast, by workers upgrading a road to a farm. These remains belong to a man who died in his mid-20s around 4,000 years ago, near the end of the Stone Age, as reported by Newsweek.

At the time of the man's death, the sea level in the area was higher than it is today, and the site where his remains were found would have been approximately 13 feet underwater. Therefore, archaeologists speculate that he may have drowned.

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"We think that he drowned. Parts of the skeleton are well preserved, and must have been covered with shell sand on the seabed shortly after he died," archaeologist Birgitte Skar with the NTNU University Museum said in a press release.

The measurements of the man's remains suggest he stood at around 5 feet, 6 inches tall. Furthermore, through DNA analyses of several other individuals from the same era with comparable genetic profiles, experts managed to reconstruct the colour of his hair, skin, and eyes. These examinations revealed that he had blonde hair and blue eyes.

Skar indicated that artefacts discovered alongside the man imply a possible "warrior" status. These items include a dagger and an arm guard—a bone object shaped like an oblong, meant to safeguard the wrist of one hand while using a bow and arrow.

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Currently, it remains uncertain whether the Hitra man drowned accidentally or as a result of some form of conflict. Nonetheless, the era in which he lived was marked by substantial transformations in the dynamics of prehistoric human communities in the area, particularly the emergence of agriculture.

(With inputs from agencies)