A PREHISTORIC man – who was shot in the head with an arrow 5,600 years ago – can be seen for the first time.
An incredible reconstruction of the Bronze Age man led to the shocking discovery that his horrific injury was not the blow that killed him.
The skeleton of the Porsmose man was discovered in 1946, in a peat bog near Næstved, Denmark.
This body showed two horrifying arrows that had struck through and pierced the prehistoric man’s head and his breastbone.
Scientists have been able to reveal the tragic man’s agonised face for the first time after they rebuilt his likeness from his bones.
Despite the terrifying and gruesome arrow shot through his skull, experts revealed something counterintuitive during the process.
This arrow did not kill the prehistoric human, but the one in his chest proved to be fatal.
The lead author of the new study, Cicero Moraes, revealed why this reconstruction project was unique.
He said: “The objective is usually to know what the individual’s face looked like.
“But in the present work, we were also interested in knowing what injuries could have been caused to the anatomical structure.”
The scientist also shared why the chest piercing proved to be fatal despite the horrifying head shot.
Moraes explained that the arrow in the chest is the more critical one, despite the visual impact and potential danger of the arrow in the face. Depending on the circumstances, the arrow in the chest can target vital organs and cause more harm than the one in the face.
The deadly arrow – which was made of bone – was thought to have pierced through two major veins, bringing his life to a tragic end.
Scientists did not stop with his head and chest as they used photographs and measurement data to map out the rest of his body.
Researchers described the face they constructed as a “strong” one.
The prehistoric being stood at around 1.66 metres tall and was about 35 to 40 years old when he was killed.
Despite this extraordinary development, mystery still shrouds this tragic Bronze Age man.
The man could have been killed, executed, or died in battle.
After he was shot in the face and the chest, his body either fell into the water or was thrown there.
He was thought to have been a murdered farmer by The National Museum of Denmark, who house his remains.
What was the Bronze Age?
Here’s what you should know…
- The Bronze Age was the period of time between the Stone Age and the Iron Age
- It is characterised by the common use of bronze at the time and also the start of some urban civilisations
- Flint was replaced by bronze for tools and weapons
- In Europe, the Bronze Age occurred from around 3200 to 600 BC
- During this time period, ancient empires started to trade luxury goods
- Bronze tools helped develop city building
- Metalworks, farmers and other craftspeople would come together in cities to trade goods
- With stronger weapons, came larger-scale wars and battles not seen before this time period
- The wheel and the ox-drawn plow were invented which helped farming flourish
- Bronze Age Britons ate cattle, sheep, pigs and deer, as well as shellfish and birds
- In the wetlands, they hunted wildfowl and collected reeds for building the roofs of their roundhouses
- The first forms of writing were developed by some civilisations
