The result is a representation that captures something real: the general facial structure derived from the skull, the pigmentation characteristics derived from the DNA, and the overall impression of an individual.

But it is also inevitably an interpretation.

The specific expression, the exact texture of the skin, the precise curl of the hair — these are artistic choices made within the constraints of the available evidence.

The Cheddar Man reconstruction is one of the more scientifically grounded ancient human reconstructions ever produced, because the combination of high-quality skull scanning and high-quality genetic data provided stronger constraints on the reconstruction than most comparable projects.

But it is still an interpretation, not a portrait.