Each person’s facial bones are unique, with muscles and soft tissues in proportion to the bones. An individual face can therefore be predicted from the measurements of the underlying skull.

Using the high resolution CT images of Ta-Kheru’s skull, experts in facial reconstruction were able to build up a picture of how she looked in life. Ta-Kheru’s missing teeth would have affected her face, giving her a sunken-cheeked appearance. The proportions of her face and the shape of her nose and ears can be deduced from the measurements of her skull.

There are some aspects of her face that are up to the reconstructor to interpret as they cannot be known from her bones, such as her skin tone and wrinkles, her hairline and hairstyle, and her eyelids and lips. Characteristic expressions might have been evident on her face – we do not know if she had frown lines or smile lines.

Ta-Kheru’s skin, eye and hair colour are unknown. DNA analysis would provide some clues, but Ta-Kheru’s DNA has not yet been studied. Her skull had traits suggesting mainly North African or Middle Eastern origins rather than sub-Saharan African origins, so the skin tone and eye colour shown here represent a person of Egyptian/Arab/North African type ancestry. This interpretation might change if we found out more about her ancestry and genetic markers.

Her natural hair colour would have greyed as she was in her late 60s or early 70s, but according to the styles of the time she might have shaved her head and worn a braided wig. As a wealthy woman she would probably have been well dressed and worn elaborate cosmetics and jewellery.

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