Genetic anthropologists study the links between ancient and modern-day humans, delving deeply into DNA and biology to understand evolutionary trends. One thing that these scientists do is reconstruct the skeletal remains of ancient peoples using skills from various fields — like art, osteology, and anatomy — to reveal what a person might have looked like when alive. Usually, this painstaking practice is carried out using real skulls, but recently a group of researchers decided to apply their techniques to reconstruct a skeleton from Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.A 2019 conference in Rome brought together historians from around the world to discuss Iron and Bronze Age Italy. Some of these people, due to shared interests, formed a group that they later called Ancestral Whispers, eventually expanding to 10 members with additional specialties in geography, computer science, and art. Inspired by the work of a renowned cranial reconstruction artist, Russian Mikhail Gerasimov, the group now carefully recreates the faces of ancient peoples using genetic anthropology.While usually the work of Ancestral Whispers covers skulls from the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Iron Age, and everything between, as a joke for April Fool’s Day, one of the team’s members shared a Twitter post of a more rare specimen. The image of a ruddy-skinned, blue-eyed, and thick-jawed man was captioned simply, “Facial reconstruction of an ancient Atmoran from Saarthal, dated to the late Merethic Era.” Skyrim fans were quick to realize that these names refer to the highly acclaimed 2011 action RPG.
For those less familiar with the particulars of The Elder Scrolls history and geography, the Merethic Era has been estimated by Skyrim scholars to encompass approximately 2,500 years, dating from the “beginning of time” and ending about 4,500 years before the events of the fifth game. Atmora is a continent located north of Tamriel, where The Elder Scrolls games primarily take place. Saarthal was once the capital city of the Nord Empire and was one of the first cities established in Tamriel. In Skyrim the Dragonborn visits the ruins of Saarthal, now teeming with Draugr, to recover four enchanted artifacts for the College of Winterhold.
Jonah Lobe is an artist who worked at Bethesda for seven years and contributed to the creation of many of the monsters, humans, and weapons found in Skyrim. Lobe replied to the Ancestral Whispers tweet, stating, “I literally designed the skeletons from Skyrim – you did an AWESOME JOB with the reconstruction. I wanted them to look thuggish, thick-jawed, thick-browed and sort of Neanderthal-like. This is THAT.”
The researcher from Ancestral Whispers responded that it was great to be recognized by someone who worked on Skyrim. It is encouraging to see validation from the skeletons’ actual designer that Ancestral Whispers’ reconstruction is somewhat accurate and conveys his vision. The lore of The Elder Scrolls is rich and convoluted, but many fans of the franchise know more about it than they do perhaps the real world. And it’s exciting to see what something as iconic and ubiquitous as Skyrim’s skeletons might have looked like when alive.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is currently available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: GamesRadar