Face of 315,000-year-old earliest known human reconstructed for first time using Moroccan fossil fragments

From the Newshound archive · first published 29 September 2026 · last updated 1 October 2026.

Scientists have used skull fragments from Jebel Irhoud in western Morocco to digitally reconstruct the face of a dark-skinned, bearded man who lived 315,000 years ago — making it the earliest known facial representation of Homo sapiens. Forensic facial reconstruction expert Cicero Moraes led the project, drawing on 3D skull scans from the Max Planck Institute and soft tissue data from modern African populations. Published in the journal Heritage, the reconstruction revealed a brain volume of 1,230 cm³, almost identical to that of a modern adult male.

Moraes said the ancient man would 'likely pass unnoticed at first glance' in a modern crowd, with only a heavier brow ridge and more pronounced facial protrusion marking him as different.

When researchers reappraised the Jebel Irhoud remains in 2017, they pushed back the origin of our species by more than 100,000 years beyond what scientists had previously believed.

The team produced two versions — a grayscale anatomical rendering and a pigmented bust showing dark skin, long hair and a beard, the latter described as 'strong and serene'.