After drawing the face on July 5, a face was finally attached to the 5,000-year-old human skeleton referred to as the Penang Woman, discovered near Guar Kepah in Kepala Batas.
Five years after the invention, a team of researchers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and 3D design expert Cicero Moraes from Brazil created a sketch using forensic facial approximation (FFA) based on its skull. Moraes is usually cited in his country as a reference in the sector of forensic facial reconstruction.
Shaiful Idzwan Shahidan, USM researcher and journal correspondent, said the study was conducted by seven USM researchers under the supervision of Dr. Johari Yap, lecturer in oral and maxillofacial radiology on the USM School of Dentistry.
The Penang Woman is a lone skeleton from the Guar Kepah archaeological site and in response to Shaiful Idzwan contacted today, it’s a priceless and vital cultural artifact. It is the forty second skeleton discovered by Malaysian researchers on April 19, 2017, and is kept in Penang.
“The lone skeleton of a Penang woman was discovered under Bukit Kerang, a pile of shells about seven meters high that we must protect for the sake of our common heritage.
“She is believed to have died between the ages of 30 and 35 and her height ranged from approximately 150 cm, and tests of skeletal tissue also showed that she had consumed a significant amount of protein from rivers or fish,” he said.
He claimed it took him three to 4 months and a series of procedures to acquire the Penang woman’s facial dimensions, including a computed tomography (CT) scan on the USM Hospital in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan.
41 skeletons recovered from three shell clusters at Guar Kepah in Kepala Batas might be returned and pursued by the Penang government in order that they might be preserved locally.
The bones are currently on display on the National Natuurhistorisch Museum in Leiden, the Netherlands, where they were discovered by British archaeologists between 1851 and 1934.
Yeoh Soon Hin, head of the State Commission for Tourism and Creative Economy, said the state government is in discussions on the matter with the Department of National Heritage and other relevant agencies.
He said that earlier in July, the Department of National Heritage and Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI), the predominant owner of the Guar Kepah project, held a coordination meeting to debate the thought of returning the skeletons to their home country.
He added that after the meeting, CMI contacted the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden (formerly referred to as the National Museum of Natural History) through the Penang Archaeological Unit (UANPP) to inquire in regards to the condition of the skeletons.
“Delegations can visit (the location to view the skeletons) as needed and the state government has received positive feedback. In line with the recent policy announced by the Dutch government in reference to its initiative to return colonial-era cultural artifacts to countries of origin that, based on latest guidelines, prioritize items stolen by colonial authorities, efforts might be made to recuperate these skeletons from Dutch authorities,” he said.
He added that before developing further motion plans, the Penang administration had written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this month asking for assist in organizing a gathering with the Dutch Embassy.
“After equipping the Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery with state-of-the-art machines and devices for his or her storage and conservation, we expect to receive the bones in 2024.
He told the New Straits Times that if an appropriate, protected place may very well be found to temporarily store these valuables until the Guar Kepah Archaeological Gallery is accomplished, “it may very well be expedited.”
Source: TheSunDaily.my, nst.com.my
