21 January 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The first Dutch Neanderthal’s ‘Krijn’ face was reconstructed

World-renowned “paleo-artists” Kennis brothers have reconstructed the face of the first Neanderthal in the Netherlands.

After more than 50,000 years, the first Neanderthal in the Netherlands, whose skull piece was displayed in 2009 in the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, has a face again.

Many reconstructions of Neanderthals and other prehistoric humans, like the glacial mummy Ötzi, were created by the Kennis brothers.

The Kennis brothers recreated Neanderthal’s face based on the distinguishing characteristics of this and other Neanderthal skulls: a young man with a noticeable bump over his right eye. The nodule is the result of a small tumor’, the National Museum of Antiquities announced.

In order to give him a scientifically reasonable face, paleoanthropological artists Kennis & Kennis Reconstructions were invited. In this task, they used the inspection features of the North Sea fossils, the number matching with the skulls of comparable Neanderthals, and the latest knowledge about Neanderthals and their appearances, such as eyes, hair, and skin color.

The young Neanderthal was dubbed Krijn by the researchers. Krijn lived in the ancient region that is now the North Sea more than 50,000 years ago. The water level was more than fifty meters lower back then than it is now. Mammoths, woolly rhinoceroses, reindeer, horses, and Neanderthals all traversed a frigid yet nutrient-rich steppe. The same-named exhibition at the National Museum of Antiquities is about these people and their environment, Doggerland.

The exhibition tells the story of almost a million years of human habitation, landscape, and climate change in the vast and rich prehistoric area off the Dutch coast. Krijn and the other finds show that further research and protection of the North Sea bed is of great scientific importance for Dutch and international archeology and paleontology.

The fossil and reconstruction of Krijn’s face may be viewed in the exhibition Doggerland at the National Museum of Antiquities from September 7 to October 31, 2021.

Source: Rijksmuseum Van Oudheden

Cover Photo: First Dutch Neanderthal gets facial reconstruction – Source: Servaas Neijens at Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Related Articles

Climate has influenced the growth of our bodies and our brain

8 July 2021

8 July 2021

Over 300 fossils from the genus Homo have been measured for body and brain size by an interdisciplinary team of...

The place where John the Baptist was martyred

4 February 2022

4 February 2022

The infamous birthday banquet of Herod Antipas, which culminated in the beheading of St John the Baptist — a preacher...

Magnificent Romanesque and Peasant war fury in the lost Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt

18 August 2023

18 August 2023

From the 12th to the 16th century, the Kaltenborn monastery near Allstedt was a religious, cultural, and economic center of...

Archaeologists unearth 3,500-Year-Old Gold Jewelry in Egypt

14 December 2022

14 December 2022

Archaeologists discovered a collection of ornate jewelry at the Tell El-Amarna necropolis on the Nile River’s eastern bank in modern-day...

Researchers found evidence of the use of medicinal herbs in the Grotte des Pigeons Cave in Morocco dating back 15,000 years

5 November 2024

5 November 2024

Morocco’s National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage has announced an important discovery that will enhance our understanding of ancient healing...

Flint tools found in Tunel Wielki Cave, Poland, about half a million years old

9 October 2022

9 October 2022

Flint tools discovered over 50 years ago in the Tunel Wielki Cave (Maopolskie region) are not tens of thousands of...

Ancient Funerary Stones Looted from Yemen Will Be Exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has signed a historic agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily keep and display...

New discoveries found under demolished historic Tawfiq Pasha Andraos Palace in Egypt

31 October 2021

31 October 2021

An Egyptian archaeological mission excavating at the site of the recently demolished Tawfiq Pasha Andraos Palace discovered a number of...

Hidden Archaeological Treasures from Cologne Cathedral

25 January 2024

25 January 2024

An area of around 4,000 square meters (43,055 square feet) is being discovered beneath the Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic...

‘Theodoric the Great’ villa mosaic found near Verona in Italy

17 April 2022

17 April 2022

A section of the ancient Roman mosaic flooring from the 5th century AD villa of Ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great...

Morocco team announces 1.3 million years major Stone Age find

29 July 2021

29 July 2021

A multinational team of archaeologists announced the discovery of North Africa’s oldest Stone Age hand-ax manufacturing site, going back 1.3...

The marble head of God Apollo unearthed in an excavation at Philippi, Greece

29 March 2024

29 March 2024

The excavation, carried out by a group of students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in the archaeological site of...

The 1000-year Curse of the Croatian King Zvonimir

26 September 2023

26 September 2023

Croatia is a fascinating country that continually rises up people’s must-visit lists thanks to its sparkling Adriatic coastline, 1,244 islands,...

New ancient ape from Türkiye challenges the story of human origins

2 September 2023

2 September 2023

A recently discovered fossilized ape from a site in Turkey that is 8.7 million years old is inspiring scientists to...

The Mountain of Shemharus, King of the Ginn: Toubkal

14 August 2022

14 August 2022

Towering over the Atlas Mountains, Mount Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco. Toubkal, the highest mountain in all of...