When the extraction was complete, researchers had more than two hundred separate fragments.

Some were substantial sections of bone.

Others were small chips.

Together, they represented a largely complete cranium, though the reassembly — even digitally — was a significant challenge.

The physical fragments were cleaned, stabilized, and CT-scanned.

The digital models of each fragment could then be manipulated in three-dimensional space, tried against one another, rotated and repositioned until the original geometry of the skull could be inferred.

This process — digital reconstruction of a badly crushed ancient skull — was not unique to Shanidar Z.