1,500-year-old Korean girl reconstructed by scientists

A scientific team has unveiled the restored model of a 1,500-year-old Korean girl, whose body was found two years back. 

According to a report in JoongAng Daily, in December 2007, archaeologists discovered the complete remains of the girl and partial remains of three others in a tomb in Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang.

By the time of the discovery, there had already been a grave robbery.

Archaeologists concluded that the four were attendants of the tomb's owner because they were positioned horizontally.

The remains of the owner, however, were missing.

"We rarely find bones in such a good condition from the era because soil in Korea is really rich," said Lee Seong-jun, a researcher at the institute.

Now, officials from the Gaya National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Korea unveiled the restored model of the girl from the Gaya confederacy era.

The restoration is the result of two years of interdisciplinary work that brought together experts in archaeology, forensic medicine, anatomy, genetics, chemistry and other fields - a notable step forward in Korean archaeology.

"There have been restorations, but most of them were based on the imagination. This case, however, is strictly based on medical science, somatology and statistics," said Lee.

Lee added that the discovery was the first time forensic experts - in this case from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation - recovered the remains of an ancient tomb.

The work revealed that the four people - two women and two men - died in the early sixth century, either due to suffocation or poisoning.

Their main diet had been rice, barley and beans as well as meat.

The girl's age was estimated through an examination of her teeth.

She apparently spent much time kneeled down and engaged in the repetitious task of cutting something with her teeth, according to the medical evaluation.

She was wearing a golden earring and is believed to have been a maid, not a slave.