The faces of four ancient individuals buried in the Colombian Andes have been revealed for the first time after researchers digitally removed the death masks from their mummies and reconstructed their features using advanced imaging technology.
The mummies, believed to be from pre-Hispanic communities in Colombia’s Eastern Cordillera, were preserved with stylized masks made of resin, clay, wax and maize.
Though this burial tradition is rare in Colombia, similar customs were common in other pre-Columbian cultures across South America.
All four sets of remains—those of a child, an older woman and two young adult men—were recovered from looted burial sites, leaving archaeologists with limited context about their original resting places.
Radiocarbon analysis dated the individuals to between 1216 and 1797. Despite the damage to their masks, including broken sections and missing facial parts, researchers were able to digitally separate the masks from the skulls to reconstruct their appearances.
The results were unveiled on Aug. 14 during the 11th World Congress on Mummy Studies held in Peru.
CT scans reveal details beneath damaged masks
Using CT scans, the research team generated 3D models of the skulls, allowing them to virtually peel away the materials covering the faces.
Jessica Liu, project manager at Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University in the U.K., said this process gave researchers a clear view of the skeletal structure beneath the masks.
Specialized software and a haptic stylus were then used to rebuild the soft tissue, fat and muscle on each skull, a method Liu compared to digital sculpting.
“The masks are of extraordinary craftsmanship and, so far, are the only ones known in Colombia. We hope that revealing the faces of these indigenous people for the first time will increase interest in these incredible civilizations,” stated Dr. Felipe Cárdenas-Arroyo of the Colombian Academy of History.
For the two male mummies, average facial tissue depth data from modern Colombian men helped shape the reconstructions.
In the absence of similar data for women and children, researchers relied on anatomical references to model the older woman’s and the child’s features. Additional fat was added to flesh out the child’s face.
To determine the nose structure, measurements were taken directly from the skull bones. Researchers selected the closest-fitting nose shape from a digital database. Hair, skin, and eye color were chosen to reflect typical traits of the region, and each face was presented with a neutral expression.
Facial texture work highlights limits of accuracy
Adding texture—like wrinkles, freckles and pores—proved the most challenging step, according to Liu.
She noted that without knowing whether the individuals had scars, tattoos, or variations in skin tone, the final textures were based on generalized information rather than exact details.
Liu emphasized that these reconstructions are approximations based on group data, and not exact likenesses. While the work reveals what these people may have looked like, she stressed that no individual is ever truly average.
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