The publication of the Cambridge team’s analysis of the skull — first reported in a 2020 paper in the journal Antiquity — generated significant academic and public interest.

But the moment that generated the widest response came in 2023, when a physical reconstruction of Shanidar Z’s probable facial appearance was produced and released publicly.

The reconstruction was carried out by John Gurche, a forensic and palaeo artist whose work on human evolutionary reconstructions is considered among the most scientifically rigorous in the field.

His reconstructions for the Smithsonian’s Hall of Human Origins had established his reputation over decades of work that took anatomical evidence seriously and avoided the temptation to sensationalize.

The process Gurche followed for Shanidar Z began with the digitally reconstructed skull.