In a truly incredible accomplishment, a team of scientists has managed to digitally reconstruct the face of a teenage girl who lived 9,000 years ago in very ancient Greece, long before even ancient Greek society as we know it. The remains of Dawn, as they are calling her, were discovered in the Theopetra cave in the Thessaly region of Greece around 25 years ago, and since then she has been a subject of fascination for scientists.

Dawn’s reconstructed face shows a protruding jowl and what appears to be a permanent scowl, which scientists attributed to the fact that she had to chew on animal skin in order to create leather. She is believed to have been between 15 and 18 years old at the time of her death, probably due to her poor condition.

Dawn lived in 7,000 BC in what scientists refer to as the Mesolithic period. She appeared to have problems with her joint and her hips, and she may have had scurvy. The cave where she was found, Theopetra cave, has been the site of other discoveries like tools and pottery.

“The Theopetra cave is located in Thessaly, Greece, on the north-east side of a limestone rock formation, 3 km (2 mi) south of Kalambaka,” reads an excerpt from Wikipedia. “The site has become increasingly important as human presence is attributed to all periods of the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, the Mesolithic, Neolithic periods and beyond, bridging the Pleistocene with the Holocene.

“The formation of the limestone rock has been dated to the Upper Cretaceous period, 135–65 million years BP. The excavations began in 1987 under the direction of N. Kyparissi-Apostolika, which were meant to give some answers to the mystery of Paleolithic Thessaly. Radiocarbon evidence shows for human presence at least 50,000 years ago.”