What did the ancient Egyptians really look like? What did the ancient Greeks look like? They looked like modern Caucasians or were all blue-eyed and blond

21.04.2019

Myth #1: Neanderthals had very big eyes.

This is one of the fresh, but pseudo-scientific myths that have already spread. Look at the Neanderthal skull: he has huge eye sockets! And that means big eyes. Perhaps Neanderthals led a crepuscular or even nocturnal lifestyle? Imagine a squat creature with headlight eyes, like an owl, hiding in caves during the day, but as soon as the sun disappears, it silently creeps out onto the main road, creeping up on a serenely sleeping mammoth. Where did the talk about huge eyes come from? In the spring of 2013, the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences published an article by English anthropologists who put forward an original hypothesis: Neanderthals lived for a long time in the north, where “there is less sun than in the tropics.” Their visual system adapted to the darkness, and their eyes increased in size. Accordingly, the area of the visual cortex of the brain has increased, to the detriment of thinking and the ability to communicate. The researchers decided to test their hypothesis: they calculated medium size the orbits of Neanderthals and ancient sapiens, and among Neanderthals they actually turned out to be larger on average - 6 mm in height and almost 3 mm in width. Then this news gets to the media mass media, and from there - into our heads. But how do you like this fact: among modern races the highest eye sockets... in the Mongoloids! And they also have the smallest eyes. The assumption that northern inhabitants must have large eyes to see better in constant twilight also fails empirical testing. By this logic, the equatorials should have the smallest eyes, and the inhabitants of the Far North should have the largest ones. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. In addition, a number of studies of modern primates have shown that there is no direct relationship between the size of their orbits and the size of their eyes... Therefore, we will continue to trust classical reconstructions, in which Neanderthals are the owners of albeit sad, but completely human eyes.

Summary: Neanderthals did not have large eyes, but large sockets. Studies have not revealed a direct relationship between the sizes of the orbits and eyes in anthropoids. Modern inhabitants of the North - owners of large eye sockets - are not at all distinguished by large eyes.

Myth No. 2: Ancient people walked around wrapped in skins and carrying a club in their hand.

A shaggy savage in skin and with a heavy club clutched in his paw - classic look popular culture, which may never have existed in nature. Apes use sticks - which means, most likely, Australopithecus had enough brains to wave a stick for intimidation and protection. However, finds of prehistoric “clubs” are unknown to archaeologists. And even if something similar were discovered, how would one distinguish a club from an ordinary fragment of a branch or trunk? The oldest undisputed wooden weapon is the spear. The wooden tools that the tribes of Africa or Australia now use are not at all similar to those spectacular gnarled monsters with which our ancestors were invariably armed classic illustrations. Of course, there are no finds of “skin capes” in which our ancestors wrapped themselves, although the ancient people probably wore something similar. Something else is important here. Apparently, the source from which the authors of popular pictures and descriptions of prehistoric life drew their inspiration is not archaeological finds or scientific facts, and popular publications and cinema. The popularized “caveman” became a kind of brand, the hero of commercials and even comedy animated series (“The Flintstones”, 1960).

Alexander Sokolov. "Myths about Human Evolution"

Artists depicted Stone Age people, guided by their ideas of what a real savage should be: powerful, shaggy and ruthless. However, the roots of the “club-wielding caveman” image can be found much further back. It turns out that the wildman was a popular character back in the Middle Ages. His image appears in European literature And decorative arts, on tapestries, bas-reliefs and even on coins, decorates coats of arms. " Wild man"was depicted completely covered with hair, and in his hands, as you may have guessed, he was clutching a club. From the depths of centuries, from the depths of the human subconscious, the image of the “wild man” has come to us in all its primitive glory.

Summary: " Caveman"is a very stable archetype living in human culture more than 2 thousand years. In the last quarter of the XIX century, the image of the “wild man” fit perfectly into the newfangled idea of the origin of man from animals. And - under the mask of either a Neanderthal or a Cro-Magnon - our updated hero returned to popular culture. Thus, natural history and folklore were imperceptibly mixed. “Wild Man” is a product not of scientific research, but of folklore and popular culture.

Myth #3: Ancient people were very hairy

Ask anyone you know to describe primitive man. Most likely, the word “hairy” will be in the top three epithets. Shaggy, covered with hair - this is how we remember them from illustrations in popular books, where the emphasis was on the animal essence, the ape-likeness of the ancestor. But what do we really know about their hair, and at what point did it disappear? Did this happen gradually, or did the fur fall out immediately and completely? Even if so, then the loss of hair should have been accompanied by a parallel restructuring of many systems: the number of sweat glands increased, the fat layer thickened, and the entire mechanism of thermoregulation changed. The growth of hair on the head, on the contrary, increased, and men also grew an impressive beard. Paleontology will not help us: bones are preserved in fossil form, but not hair. Yes, sometimes mammoth carcasses are removed from permafrost, but no one has found Neanderthal mummies. And yet, Neanderthals were not fundamentally different from us in their skeletal structure and way of life: they did not live in forests, but in open areas, used fire and tools, and went hunting. We are unlikely to be mistaken if we assume that there was no radical difference between us and them in terms of the degree of hairiness. In 2004, experts studied variations in the gene responsible for skin color in Africans and came to the conclusion that human skin became dark at least 1.2 million years ago. Apes have light skin under their fur, as it is protected from ultraviolet radiation by the hair. It should have darkened after our ancestors lost their fur. This means that more than a million years ago people were not “shaggy troglodytes.” Why is our fur thinning? Here's a possible explanation. After our ancestors climbed down from the trees and went out into the savannah, under the scorching sun, they needed more efficient system thermoregulation. The number of glands that secrete sweat has increased, which, when evaporated, lowers body temperature. In such a situation, hair was more of a hindrance: evaporation occurs more efficiently from the exposed surface of the skin. Therefore the fur disappeared. Please note that on the head exposed to the sun's rays, a cap of hair has been preserved, which serves as thermal protection. You may ask: why didn’t ancient people grow hair again when they went north into the cold? One can answer this way: instead of waiting for the mercy of evolution, man invented clothing and a hearth. The missing wool was replaced by warm skin taken from a killed animal. The walls of a cave or hut protected from rain and wind, and fire allowed them to survive the harsh winter.

Summary: It is believed that ancient people were very hairy. Unlike bones, hair decomposes quickly, so the degree of hairiness of our ancestors can only be guessed at. However, it is very likely that hair disappeared already in the early stages of human evolution.

Myth No. 4: Ancient people had arms up to their knees, their legs were short and crooked, and they walked hunched over.

Short, awkward, monkey-like long arms, a Neanderthal cowardly clings to the entrance to the cave... The French anthropologist Marcelin Boule played an important role in creating such a repulsive image. In 1911, in a book dedicated to the skeleton of a Neanderthal old man from La Chapelle-aux-Saints, Boulle described the Neanderthal as a stooped subhuman, with an extended neck, walking on bent legs. And the artist Frantisek Kupka, under the guidance of Buhl, embodied the image created by the anthropologist on paper. The result was an extremely unattractive creature, something like a character from a horror film. Decades later, it turned out that the signs that Buhl took as characteristic of Neanderthals were actually a consequence of old age: the old man was crippled by arthritis. In his youth, he could well have been a handsome handsome man with his head held high. However, the standard has been set. And off we go. Hairy and scary, with a large mask-like face, massive brows and without the slightest hint of a forehead, clutching a huge stone and moving like a baboon. So ancient man and entered the mass consciousness. As you can imagine, finding a complete skeleton that included both upper and lower limbs so that proportions and posture could be assessed is a rare success. For a long time, anthropologists had to be content with fragments and guess the rest. They reasoned like this: since evolution is a smooth and uniform process, then all parts of the human body “humanized” gradually and synchronously. The primitive head must correspond to an ape-like body (although the first finds of Pithecanthropus contradicted this: an almost modern femur was attached to the archaic skull). It seemed logical that Neanderthals, and even more so Pithecanthropus, climbed out of the trees just yesterday and did not have time to really master walking on two legs. The stereotype turned out to be tenacious. It is now known that our ancestors became upright several million years before the appearance of Pithecanthropus: this time was more than enough to achieve high skill in walking and running on their own two feet. Judging by the structure of the legs, pelvis and spine, australopithecines already walked easily and naturally, and they had absolutely no need to slouch.

Summary: The image of hunched, crooked and awkward ancient people arose at the beginning of the last century on the basis of early ideas about the stages of human evolution. The formation of the stereotype was facilitated by the study of the skeleton of an old Neanderthal man: scientists incorrectly interpreted age-related changes as inherent to the entire species. Now we know that almost modern proportions and body structure (except for the skull) developed among ancient people 1.5 million years ago. We can well be proud of the posture of our ancestors.

Myth No. 5: In ancient times, people were giants

What epic could do without giants, titans, giants or cyclops? Of course, it is tempting to think that mythical characters had real prototype- some ancient race, builders of gigantic stone structures that are impossible to erect to an ordinary person. What do supporters of the reality of ancient giants cite as evidence? Firstly, spectacular photographs of skeletons of enormous size and perfect preservation, and secondly, eyewitness accounts - for example, peasants who once found huge bones right in their garden. True, then these bones usually disappeared somewhere. Thirdly, megalithic buildings - for example, the famous Stonehenge. People of our build with the technology of that time were not capable of dragging multi-ton stones for tens or even hundreds of kilometers; only giants are capable of this! Fourthly, quotes from chronicles and diaries of medieval travelers who described encounters with giants on an exotic island, in Patagonia, in the snowy Himalayas or somewhere else at the end of the world. And finally, stories about the remains of Gigantopithecus and Meganthropus found already in the 20th century. Well, competently packaged, such a set of arguments makes a strong impression on the unprepared reader. But speaking seriously, it is easy to see that the photographs of “huge skeletons” are a banal photomontage, and in some cases even the author of the fakes is known. Eyewitness accounts are, alas, not evidence. The honest eyes of an eyewitness cannot replace the main thing - the finds themselves. Meganthropes and Gigantopithecus have long found their place on the evolutionary tree, but they have nothing to do with the legendary “giants” and certainly did not build Stonehenge (Gigantopithecus are relatives of orangutans, and Meganthropes are now classified as Javan Homo erectus). The builders of megaliths have also long been known, described, and in some cases technologies have been experimentally tested that make it possible to build Stonehenge without the help of giants or aliens. In addition, when familiar with biomechanics and the laws of physics, it becomes obvious that a person who mysteriously grew to several meters would not be able to move normally. His legs would break, crushed by the weight of his own body. Take a look at real giant animals - elephants or at least gorillas, at the shape of their bodies, at the thickness of their limbs. A primate that grew to the size of an elephant, and even walked upright, would have completely inhuman proportions. What does paleoanthropology say about the growth of our ancestors? Despite the difficulties associated with reconstructing a fossil creature, modern science Considerable statistics on the body sizes of ancient people have been accumulated. And we can say with confidence that in the process of evolution the growth of our ancestors did not decrease, but increased.

Summary: Science knows neither the finds of the remains of giant people, nor any indirect evidence of their existence in the past. Judging by the data of paleoanthropologists, during the process of evolution the growth of our ancestors did not decrease, but increased. Compared to Australopithecines, you and I are real giants.

Before finding out what the inhabitants looked like Ancient Rome, you need to clearly understand that the population of the Roman Empire - not one people, not two - consisted of hundreds of different ethnic groups who had their own culture and fashion for clothing. It should also be understood that all people in Rome did not belong to the same social class. Roman society was divided into at least free people(citizens of the Roman Empire), and slaves. Among the citizens there were: patricians and plebeians, warriors and merchants and many others. Each of these layers had a different way of life, they had different housing, diet and, of course, appearance - that is, clothing.

People of Ancient Rome: appearance

Outerwear:
Free people of Rome wore a toga; foreigners and slaves did not have the right to wear this robe. Wealthy people, mostly patricians, could afford togas. The toga was often worn for special occasions, such as holidays and political events.
Most citizens are made of wool and flax. There were men's and women's tunics. For men, such attire reached to the very knees, while soldiers, for example, wore shorter tunics, and for women their length reached the ankles.
The paludamentum was worn by soldiers; this robe was a type of cloak, its length reached to the ankles.

Underwear:
In the empire, two tunics were worn, one of which served as underwear. Women also wore breastbands, which served as nothing more than a bra. Men wore loincloths, but more often they also began to use two tunics.
The legs were tied with bandages made of wool and linen. Trousers were not worn then; it was a barbaric custom.
Slave clothing:
Slaves also wore a short-sleeved tunic, its quality was significantly worse than that of Roman citizens. Slaves often did not wear shoes, with the exception of the northern regions of the Roman Empire.
Appearance soldier:
The soldiers of the legion were dressed differently than everyone else, they wore plastic armor over their tunics, they also had leather armor lined with steel plates, and the heavily armed wore armor. There was a steel helmet on his head, and strong sandals - kaligi - were worn on his feet.
In addition to armor, soldiers constantly carried weapons: a sword - gladius, a shield - scutum, a dagger - pugio. In total, the weight of the warrior’s equipment reached about 30 kg!
Thus, it can be concluded that people of ancient rome looked different, all due to the social status of the resident and his type of activity.

3D technologies have made it possible to recreate the appearance of people who lived a long time ago based on their remains. Recently, scientists have reconstructed the appearances of the Peruvian queen of the forgotten Moche kingdom, the ancient Greek “griffin” warrior, the medieval Scottish highlanders, the ancient Egyptian aristocrat and another ancient Egyptian woman, as well as the victim of Vesuvius. The publication “My Planet” talked about these reconstructions.

Señora de Cao is the ruler of the Moche people.

Scientists in Peru have used 3D printing to reconstruct the face of a powerful ancient ruler known as Señora de Cao. The woman was found to have an oval face with high cheekbones, a look characteristic of many modern Peruvians.

She was a member of the Moche nobility who lived in northern Peru 1,700 years ago. The tattooed mummy of the “Señora” was discovered in 2006 in the ruins of the Huaca Cao Vieja pyramid near the city of Trujillo. Her legs and face were tattooed magical symbols snakes and spiders.

Researchers had previously established that the woman died at the age of 20, possibly in childbirth or as a result of complications during pregnancy. The rich decoration of the grave suggested that Senora de Cao was a powerful priestess or even a political leader.

"Griffin Warrior" who died 3500 years ago.

Scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (South Africa) used computer modeling to restore the appearance of the “griffin warrior” who died in 1500 BC. e.

12. Neolithic Man

11. Ava, a woman from the Bronze Age

This young woman is known as Ava, and she died approximately 3,700 years ago. Her remains were found in Scotland in a rock-cut grave, which is very unusual. Most likely, Ava belonged to the people of the Bell-shaped Beaker culture - the “people of cups”. Scottish archaeologist Maya Hoole and forensic artist Hugh Morrison were able to recreate the girl's face.

10. Tutankhamun

Pharaoh Ancient Egypt, the most important person in ancient Egyptian history, reigned around 1332-1323 BC. e. He ascended the throne when he was only 10 years old and died before he was 20. Thanks to painstaking study and a CT scan of his mummy in 2005, the world was able to see the recreated appearance of the boy pharaoh. As you can see, his appearance with effeminate features was far from ideal.

9. Girl from Ancient Greece

This girl lived in Athens and died at the age of 11 in about 430 BC. e. Around this time, ancient Greek civilization experienced its greatest prosperity.

8. Gaius Julius Caesar

The National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands has reconstructed the face of an ancient Roman commander. To do this, scientists scanned a marble bust from the museum's collection. Well, we imagined the appearance of the great political figure of Rome somewhat differently.

7. An ancient Roman who died in Pompeii

August 24, 79 AD e. The catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. According to some reports, about 16-20 thousand people died during the natural disaster. This man was one of them. A forensic expert from the UK has reconstructed a man's face using X-rays and other data from the skull. Scientists nicknamed this Roman “the unknown man.” The fact is that they did not find any signs with him by which anything could be learned about his life and social status.

6. A girl from Ancient Rome who died in Herculaneum

The young girl was among 20 people who sought shelter from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius under a boat shed. Presumably, the girl came from a wealthy family.

5. A young man from the Middle Ages

This boy lived in the Middle Ages in Scotland. He was between 13 and 17 years old. He may have been treated and died in the hospital at that time. The scientists used forensic modeling to first reconstruct the boy's facial muscles and tissue, and then used a computer program to reconstruct human faces.

4. King Richard III of England

The English king, the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, lived in the second half of the 15th century. In Shakespeare's play, Richard III personified cruelty and deceit. However, historians still

In ancient times, many would describe something like this: an elderly man with long hair in a white shirt. However, this is not entirely true. There are many versions of what the Slavs looked like. The topic of their appearance is very interesting, so it deserves more detailed study.

Habitat of Slavic tribes

The Slavs have lived since ancient times in the central part of Europe, in the Carpathian region and in the Carpathian region. According to one version, the advance to the eastern part occurs in the period from the 5th to the 7th centuries AD. If you listen to another, you can hear the version that in Eastern Europe The Slavs were in this part of Europe. There were three large groups: eastern, western and southern. Pagan beliefs determined not only the spirituality of the Slavs, but also their appearance.

It is impossible to say for sure what the Eastern Slavs looked like. In this area lived huge amount tribes These are such as Vyatichi, Volynians, Krivichi, Radimichi, Croats, Polochans and many others. Each of them had its own characteristic features. Among the general things, one can note the fact that the clothes did not have complex details, but the external design was always under special attention. Various patterns, ornaments, and figures were embroidered on fabrics. Various types were used for decorations. They wore bast shoes on their feet. Loose linen shirts were worn under outerwear. The richer a person was, the more clothes he wore. Differences could be in the color of the preferred fabric, size, shape and number of decorations, and methods of weaving bast shoes. We can definitely say that the way the ancient Slavs looked was influenced by the surrounding nature, the way of life and lifestyle of the tribes, as well as their neighbors - the Scythians and Sarmatians.

Are there any similarities with the Vikings?

Some historians categorically reject the image that appears to us of a long-haired man with a beard. It's less like what the ancient Slavs looked like and more like the Vikings.

In their opinion, the Slavs opposed cutting hair on the head and shaving the beard.
The Scandinavians took this look from religious traditions. The Slavs in those days lived on the Baltic coast. Unlike the Vikings, they shaved carefully and cut their hair very short all over their heads, leaving a forelock on their forehead. And the wise men walked with long hair. The Slavs ridiculed the appearance of Scandinavian men. Scientists are trying to determine what the Slavs looked like from the skeletons they found. Thanks to these finds, descendants have the opportunity to become familiar with the jewelry, clothing and accessories used by the ancient Slavs. Similarities with Scandinavian outfits can be seen in women's hair jewelry and hats.

Appearance of Slavic women

At all times, Slavic women used multi-layered clothing. Moreover, different costumes were intended for each event. Appearance also depended on the woman's age. A shirt with wide sleeves was always worn over the body. The closer to our time, the more the appearance of the Slavs became filled with luxury. Clothes became more varied. The head was covered with various headdresses. From ribbons to hats unusual shape. Women decorated their outfits with beads, which were bright and hung on their chests in several rows. All the clothes were long, almost down to the heels. It was decorated with sewn ribbons, small frills and braid. They also liked to wear large earrings and rings.

Men's Slavic costume

The men wore long shirts - vests. They were wrapped and belted with a belt. The shirts did not have fasteners; some of them were worn on top. Winter clothing was made from the fur of various animals. These include sheepskin coats and mittens. The pants were wide, they were tied at the waist and at the bottom. Wealthy people had several such pants. In winter, woolen ones were worn over canvas ones. Shoes for men and women were made from canvas. They wrapped the legs and attached the sole with straps. The boots were made from a whole piece of leather.

All clothes had embroidery. Over time, it became more and more.

Hairstyles of the ancient Slavs

Hair and hairstyles occupied a special place in the life of the ancient Slavs. One could judge a person's social status by their hairstyle. They cut their hair ritually, observing traditions. This had to be done at a certain period of life. Boys' hair was not allowed to grow long and was cut quite often.

For this reason, the girls needed to grow them, diligently monitor them, caring for them with the help of plant components. Girls wore one or two braids.

As boys grew older, they grew a longer forelock. The rest of the head was cut very short. The forelock was a special attribute. The young man was proud of him, sometimes he twisted him. Adult men most often wore a circle haircut. It is also called “under the pot.” It was with the help of this attribute that a similar hairstyle was made. For Eastern Slavs this was also generally accepted.

It is impossible to say reliably what the Slavs looked like. One thing that is certain is that their clothes were comfortable and spacious, regardless of the era.