The Real Face Of Jesus

Advances in forensic science reveal the most famous face in history.

By Mike Fillon

Dec 1, 2019

Originally published in December 2002, the Popular Mechanics article "The Real Face of Jesus" created a face for the most famous historical figure in human history. Since then, science has continued reconstructing faces from throughout history, from Stone Age humans to European royalty.

Below the article is reproduced in its entirety along with how it appeared in the December 2002 issue.

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From the first time Christian children settle into Sunday school classrooms, an image of Jesus Christ is etched into their minds. In North America he is most often depicted as being taller than his disciples, lean, with long, flowing, light brown hair, fair skin and light-colored eyes. Familiar though this image may be, it is inherently flawed. A person with these features and physical bearing would have looked very different from everyone else in the region where Jesus lived and ministered. Surely the authors of the Bible would have mentioned so stark a contrast./.../