法醫科學家透露耶穌的真面目 (2)
Forensic Scientists Reveal What Jesus
Really Looked Like — According to Science, That Is
Reconstructing Jesus
Matthew's description of the events in
Gethsemane offers an obvious clue to the face of Jesus. It is clear that his features were
typical of Galilean Semites of his era. And so the first step for Neave and his
research team was to acquire skulls from near Jerusalem, the region where Jesus
lived and preached. Semite skulls of this type had previously been found by
Israeli archeology experts, who shared them with Neave.
With three well-preserved specimens
from the time of Jesus in hand, Neave used computerized tomography (局部X射線)to create X-ray "slices" of the skulls, thus
revealing minute details about each one's structure. Special computer programs
then evaluated reams of information about known measurements of the thickness
of soft tissue at key areas on human faces. This made it possible to re-create the muscles and skin overlying a
representative Semite skull.
The entire process was accomplished
using software that verified the results with anthropological 人類學的
data. From this data, the researchers
built a digital 3D reconstruction of the face (臉部數位3D的重建). Next, they created a cast of the skull. Layers of clay
matching the thickness of facial tissues specified by the computer program were
then applied, along with simulated skin(模仿的皮膚). The nose, lips and eyelids were then modeled to follow
the shape determined by the underlying muscles.
A Matter of Style
Two key factors could not be
determined from the skull—Jesus's hair and coloration.(著色) To fill in these parts of the picture, Neave's
team turned to drawings found at various archeological sites, dated (遠溯至) to the first century. Drawn before
the Bible was compiled, they held crucial clues that enabled the researchers to
determine that Jesus had dark rather than light-colored eyes. They also pointed out that in keeping with Jewish
tradition, he was bearded as well.
It was the Bible, however, that
resolved the question of the length of Jesus's hair. While most religious
artists have put long hair on Christ, most biblical scholars believe that it
was probably short with tight curls. This assumption, however, contradicted what many
believe to be the most authentic depiction: the face seen in the image on the
famous—some say infamous—Shroud of Turin. The shroud(屍衣) is believed by many to be the cloth
in which Jesus's body was wrapped after his death.
Although there is a
difference of opinion as to whether the shroud is genuine, it clearly depicts a
figure with long hair. Those who criticize the shroud's legitimacy point to
Corinthians, one of the many New Testament books the apostle Paul is credited
with writing. In one chapter he mentions having seen Jesus—then later describes
long hair on a man as disgraceful. Would Paul have written "If a man has long hair,
it is a disgrace to him" if Jesus Christ had had long hair?
For Neave and
his team this settled the issue. Jesus, as drawings from the first century
depict, would have had short hair, appropriate to men of the time.
The historic record also resolved the
issue of Jesus's height. From an analysis of skeletal remains, archeologists
had firmly established that the average build of a Semite male at the time of
Jesus was 5 ft. 1 in., with an average weight of about 110 pounds. Since Jesus worked outdoors as a
carpenter until he was about 30 years old, it is reasonable to assume he was
more muscular and physically fit than westernized portraits suggest. His face
was probably weather-beaten, which would have made him appear older, as well.
·
Computer models (left) and modeling clay enable Neave (right) to create a
forensically acceptable facial reconstruction.
Keith
Kasnot/National Geographic Image
An Accurate Portrait
For those accustomed to traditional
Sunday school portraits of Jesus, the sculpture of the dark and swarthy (黝黑的)Middle Eastern man that emerges from Neave's laboratory
is a reminder of the roots of their faith. "The fact that he probably
looked a great deal more like a darker-skinned Semite than westerners are used to seeing him pictured is a
reminder of his universality," says Charles D. Hackett, director of
Episcopal studies at the Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. "And [it
is] a reminder of our tendency to sinfully appropriate him in the service of our cultural
values."
Neave emphasizes that his re-creation
is simply that of an adult man who lived in the same place and at the same time
as Jesus. As might well be expected, not everyone agrees.
Forensic depictions are not an exact science, cautions Alison Galloway, professor
of anthropology at the University of California in Santa Cruz. The details in a
face follow the soft tissue above the muscle, and it is here where forensic
artists differ widely
in technique. Galloway points out that some artists pay more
attention to the subtle differences in such details as the distance between the bottom of the nose and the
mouth.
\
And the
most recognizable features of the face—the folds of the eyes, structure of the
nose and shape of the mouth—are left to the artist. "In some cases the
resemblance between the reconstruction and the actual individual can be uncanny,(怪異的)" says
Galloway. "But in others there may be more resemblance with the other work
of the same artist." Despite this reservation, she reaches one conclusion
that is inescapable to almost everyone who has ever seen Neave's Jesus.
"This is probably a lot closer to the truth than the work of many great masters."
網路資訊
Justin Lai (賴正雄)
01/05/2016
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