In the field of archaeological and anthropological research many hours, days, weeks, months, and years have gone into understanding the origin of our species. Deciphering where we as human beings came from and why we are the way we are involves gathering, sorting, and analyzing bits of pieces of information. Much of this information is put into some kind of organization, often a time line or model, to help us bring the past back to life again. There are three terms defined by Russel E. Dickenson, the director of the National Park Service in accordance with the Secretary’s Standards for Archeology and Historic Preservation that are often used in the interpretation of the past:
Reconstruction - the act or process of reproducing by new construction the exact form and detail of a vanished building, structure, or object, or any part thereof, as it appeared at a specific period of time.
Restoration – the act or process of accurately recovering the form and details of a property and its setting as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of later work or by the replacement of missing earlier work.
Preservation – the act or process of applying measures to sustain the existing form, integrity and material of a building or structure, and the existing form and vegetative cover of a site. It may include initial stabilization work, where necessary, as well as ongoing maintenance of the historic building materials. All of the laws concerning Archeology and Historic Preservation can be found through the National Trust for Historical Preservation at http://www.nationaltrust.org/.
John Prag and Richard Neave have spent more than 20 years reconstructing faces from complete skulls and partial skulls. The skulls that have been worked on were found through archaeological excavations in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Prag and Neave have worked with anthropologists, pathologists, and facial surgeons to try to attach the correct amount of muscle and to form the muscle in order to "put flesh" on the bones of ancient people. This includes bog bodies like Lindow Man and Yde Girl to Philip II of Macedon, King Midas, and a Carian princess who many think may be Ada I, the adoptive mother of Alexander the Great.
Much of the reconstruction work involves the technology of computers but Prag and Neave prefer to make three-dimensional models. In reconstructing of the face, the first step is to carefully make a cast of the skull. Small wooden pegs are inserted into the cast to varying depths at 21 key points. The ends of the pegs that project out indicate the thickness of the soft tissues based on information derived from present people of different ages, sexes, body builds, and ethnic groups. Using clay and the rules of anatomy, layers of big temporalis muscles on the side of the skull and superficial features of the head such as the eyelids and mouth are created. The final models are made with plaster of Paris, bronzed resin , or wax. Although, the models are not the true models they are very close to how the individual would have looked if they were alive.
The most famous work done by Prag and Neave is the reconstruction of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Through their work it was discovered that the cremated bones found in the main chamber of tomb II at Vergina in 1977 were almost certainly the remains of the Macedonian king (336 B.C). The major clue to the identification was their recognition of the mark left by an injury at the right orbit, caused by an angled blow from above. They linked this information to an ancient description of how Philip was struck by an arrow in the right eye during the siege of the Greek city of Methone in 354 B C.
Many times DNA analysis has been used to confirm things like kinship. Often new questions about the origin of some skulls develop after the reconstruction has occurred. Many people that deal in forensics look at it as if it’s a "scientific art." Reconstructions will never give us 100 percent true to life portraits but they are highly accurate in many cases and are important as well as powerful instruments for bringing the past to the present.