Meet Wilma: The face of Neanderthal woman revealed for the first time



Artists and scientists have created the first model of a Neanderthal based in part on ancient DNA evidence.

She has been put together using analysis of DNA from 43,000-year-old bones that had been cannibalised.

Wilma has been pieced together using ancient DNA

The model has been nicknamed Wilma after she was found to have red-hair like the Flintstones character.

The findings had suggested that at least some Neanderthals would have had red hair, pale skin, and possibly freckles.

Created for an October 2008 National Geographic magazine article, Wilma has a skeleton made from replicas of pelvis and skull bones from Neanderthal females.

Hunter: 'Wilma' in a classic hunting pose

Wilma was commissioned by National Geographic to illustrate the magazine article

The full feature on neanderthals is in the latest issue of National Geographic magazine, on sale now

Copies of male Neanderthal bones - resized to female dimensions - filled in the gaps.

National Geographic's senior science editor, Jamie Shreeve, who oversaw the project, said: "For the first time, anthropologists can go beyond fossils and peer into the actual genes of an extinct species of human.

"We saw an opportunity to literally embody this new science in a full-size Neanderthal female, reconstructed using the latest information from genetics, fossil evidence, and archaeology."

More information on Wilma can be read at the National Geographic website.