‘Face powder’ helps identify ancient bones

Apr 08, 2024

Ancient burial ground: Researches carefully lifting the prehistoric remains from the excavation site in Gua Keledung Kecil in Nenggiri Valley, Gua Musang. — Bernama

GUA MUSANG: The 14,000-year-old human skeleton uncovered by archaeologists seven months ago in Gua Keledung Kecil at the Nenggiri Valley here is likely to be that of a female based on the discovery of hematite in the grave.

The mineral has a reddish powder that researchers believe was used as a face powder during the pre-Neolithic age.

Ancient cavemen also used hematite as a tool to draw or scribble on the walls of their cave dwellings and buried it with the dead as well.

A team of researchers from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) led by Assoc Prof Dr Zuliskandar Ramli has been carrying out excavation works at the Nenggeri Valley since September last year.

The excavation, an initiative by Tenaga Nasional Bhd, covers part of the site for the upcoming RM5bil Nenggiri hydroelectric dam project.

Excavation was being carried out at caves before the area is fully submerged by mid-2027.

“There was a piece of hematite in the left hand of the skeleton, and this showed that the deceased, when alive, had expertise in using hematite as a make-up aid or as a burial ritual,” said Zuliskandar, who is a senior fellow at UKM’s Institute of Malay World and Civilisation.

He said the team also found two pieces of clear crystals in the eye sockets, possibly part of the prehistoric humans’ burial rituals.

The Nenggiri prehistoric human is believed to be older than the Perak Man, the moniker given to the skeletal remains of a man believed to have existed 10,000 to 11,000 years ago and discovered in the Lenggong Valley district in Hulu Perak in 1991.

On July 13, the Nenggiri Valley prehistoric human remains were taken to UKM’s Medical Faculty, 300km away in Kuala Lumpur.

The skeleton is being studied under the “Bone Quality of Prehistoric Humans in the Malay Peninsula” project by a team of researchers from UKM’s Anatomy Department and Pharmacology Department led by Prof Dr Ima Nirwana Soelaiman.

“Roughly from what we have seen, this human skeleton has a rather large femur (thigh) bone and looks robust... we can assume that person was healthy when alive,” said Prof Ima Nirwana.

Once the Nenggiri prehistoric human bones are thoroughly cleaned and dried, the researchers will embark on the next process, which is analysing the internal structure of the bones using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to determine their internal shape and density. This will take about two weeks to complete, reported Bernama.

The two-dimensional (2D) images obtained from the micro-CT scanning will be constructed into 3D images using special computer software.

This software will also provide quantitative measurements pertaining to the bones’ internal thickness and trabeculae.

This process, however, is complicated and is expected to take two to three months.

“The findings from the scans will give us an idea of the health of the bones and density of the internal structure as well as compare the prehistoric human’s biological characteristics with that of modern humans,” she said.

The findings of their studies will be used to build a special database on the biological characteristics of prehistoric human bones, which will also provide detailed information on human life during the pre-Neolithic era and serve as a source of reference for researchers all over the world.

Once their research is completed, the Nenggiri prehistoric human skeleton will be handed over to the National Heritage Department for conservation.

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