Reconstruction of 7,500 years old forager from Norway

Vistegutten, as he is called, has been the subject of the most extensive reconstruction has been carried out on a stone age skeletons in Norway, thanks to modelling techniques developed in the UK. 

Reconstruction of the Vistegutten skeleton found in 1907 [Credit: Archaeological Museum/University of Stavanger]

"If the boy's family had seen the reconstruction, they would have immediately recognized him", said forensic artist Jenny Barber from Scotland's University of Dundee, who made the reconstruction for the Archaeological Museum and University of Stavanger. 

Analysis of the skeleton has revealed that the boy was only 15 years old, with a height of 1.25 metres. We know a lot about how he lived and what he ate. It has been speculated as to whether or not he was sickly, which could have caused death. 

The skull of the stone age boy [Credit: Archaeological Museum/University of Stavanger]

"Vistegutten lived with a group of 10–15 people, and spent a large part of his life in and around the cave," said Research Director Mads Ravn. 

The skeleton of the boy was found in 1907 in Svarthola, approx. 10 km north-west of Stavanger. The remains were discovered in a cave and constitute the most complete stone age skeletons in Norway and the third oldest of a man found in this country. Today is the skull and legs on display at the Archaeological museum. 

The final model of the stone age boy's head, reconstructed by Jenny Barber [Credit: Archaeological Museum/University of Stavanger]

"He ate fish, especially cod, as well as oysters, clams, Guillemots, cormorants, elk and wild boar. During the summer, he participated in mountain hunts and lived in a tent of skins. He was from the area, as the remains contained the same groundwater isotopes that we also found in the bones of wild boar", said Raven.  

Vistegutten has not been given hair because Barber wanted to show that he had a scaphocephaly, a congenital deformity that makes the skull long and narrow. But he was still muscular, and probably fairly robust. 

Source: Aftenposten [October 03, 2011]