So that's where I lost my pen.

July 25, 2005 7:13 PM

"In 1970, archaeologists discovered the site of Fort Orange in Albany, New York. This fort was built by Dutch fur-traders around 1624 and was later surrounded by a growing community. " Among the findings were three human skeletons from a Lutheran cemetery. One skeleton had a skull with enough bone to attempt a facial reconstruction. Say hello to Pearl.
posted by DeepFriedTwinkies (20 comments total)

Howdy Pearl!
posted by Balisong at 7:26 PM on July 25, 2005

This is impressive, but I find the attitude toward the dead disturbing. 1624 wasn't that long ago, really...I mean, this is not a caveman frozen to death while hunting mammoths, this is a woman from just a few hundred years ago, buried in a cemetary.
posted by bingo at 7:27 PM on July 25, 2005

Apparently the colony died off because nobody would sleep with their wives on account of them looking so hideous.
posted by nightchrome at 7:28 PM on July 25, 2005

I would be interested in seeing how accurate these reconstructions are. Does anybody know if they have tried to reconstruct a modern skull and compare it to a photograph of the living person?

Obviously somebody who had donated their body to science, of course.
posted by mikeweeney at 7:48 PM on July 25, 2005

Pearl looks like my Grandpa. Especially at the funeral: while he was alive the old guy never wore THAT much lipstick.
posted by davy at 7:52 PM on July 25, 2005

davy : >

this is cool, but is it scientifically necessary? don't we already know their diet and where early settlers came from? and pretty much everything? now if they could reanimate her to tell us about it--that would be something.
posted by amberglow at 7:56 PM on July 25, 2005

Pearl's nose looks kind of odd to me in profile, almost vertical.
posted by orange swan at 8:28 PM on July 25, 2005

Thanks, nightchrome! You made me blow my Mountain Dew out my nose. Best. Comment. Ever!
posted by nlindstrom at 8:31 PM on July 25, 2005

Does anybody know if they have tried to reconstruct a modern skull and compare it to a photograph of the living person?

Yes, forensic anthropologists do this all the time. While a lot of the features may seem up to chance, there are certain elements of the remains that make the reconstruction more accurate. The greatest concentration of fatty tissues and muscles are located around the eyes and mouth, but you can get additional information from the size of certain facial bones--larger bones mean larger attached muscles, for instance. Sex, age, race and overall body size also contribute significant clues. Here is an article that goes into more detail, and here is an FBI paper with some examples (with photographs for comparison).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 8:32 PM on July 25, 2005

I'll be getting cremated so that my reconstructed face can't be mocked by future generations of wisecrackers.

Still, this is good stuff. If a little disrespectful to the not so long ago departed.
posted by fenriq at 8:50 PM on July 25, 2005

fenriq, they don't call it a shallow grave for nothing.
posted by nightchrome at 10:13 PM on July 25, 2005

Disrespectful? The woman died 300 years ago; she's been long forgotten and, well, it's not like she'll care at this point.

Doing something like this is the ultimate respect one can give to a corpse - she just gained immortality through historical acknowledgement.
posted by cmonkey at 10:26 PM on July 25, 2005

Thank you Civil_Disobeient, that was exactly what I was looking for.
posted by mikeweeney at 10:38 PM on July 25, 2005

Ah crap, sorry to mispell your name.
posted by mikeweeney at 10:39 PM on July 25, 2005

I did say a little disrespectful. I know I wouldn't want it done to me and imagine I'm not the only one to think it. Now or then.
posted by fenriq at 11:13 PM on July 25, 2005

Yikes. Why can't they at least reconstruct a pleasant smile for her while they're at it?
posted by sellout at 11:36 PM on July 25, 2005

This was cool. Thanks, DeepFriedTwinkies.
posted by sharpener at 11:37 PM on July 25, 2005

The profile of the mouth seems a little off. She has that pursed-jutting-lip expression you often see on early forensic reconstructions from the 1980s.

She otherwise looks pretty good for somebody who dealt with more health problems in her 45-odd years than most of us do in 80.
posted by watsondog at 2:03 AM on July 26, 2005

If the reconstruction is as accurate as the maps are then Pearl looked nothing like that. I work at State and Pearl, half the buildings depicted on the map are misidentified or misnumbered.
posted by page404 at 3:59 AM on July 26, 2005

watsondog, the comments explain that her lips and cheeks are pursed and sunken because she had no side teeth.

DFT, cool link, thanks.
posted by carmen at 11:57 AM on July 26, 2005