Luzia's skull found in the rubble of the National Museum

Almost two months after the tragedy of National Museum fire, good news! Amidst the ashes and rubble, fragments of Luzia's skull were found, the oldest human fossil in Brazil! The information was confirmed by the researchers who are part of the searches of the institution's collection.

According to the technicians, 80% of the parts that make up Luzia's skull have already been identified, in addition to the femur that was kept in the same box. However, the assembly work has not yet started. Alexandre Kellner, director of the Museum, celebrated the fact and hopes that more parts of the fossil can be found.

So far, the forehead, nose and lateral part of the skull, the most resistant bones, have been identified. Both the fragments and the femur were accommodated in a box that, in turn, was kept inside a closet. Remains of the box were also identified by the researchers.

Cláudia Rodrigues, a member of the search team, mentioned that the group managed to recover some parts of the lost collection. She recalled that the fragments of Luzia's skull were found a few days ago and that the damage is less than imagined. What may have contributed was precisely the strategic place where it was kept.

Meet Lucia

Luzia's skull was found in 1975, at the archaeological site of Lapa Vermelha, Minas Gerais. Belonging to the paleoamerican homo sapiens species, it is perhaps the oldest human fossil found in Brazil. Its estimated age ranges from 11,243 to 11,710 years. The importance of the material lies in changing the theory about the occupation of the American continent.

According to studies of Luzia's cranial morphology, scholars identified traits that referred to Australian aborigines and black Africans. The search for the skull was part of the emergency work carried out about a month ago at the fire site. Interventions have an estimated value of BRL 9 million and should continue until February 2019.

In addition to the skull, other items from the collection that disappeared with the fire were also found, but which ones were not mentioned. The search work began three weeks ago and should take another 150 days.

fire and reconstruction

The National Museum in Rio de Janeiro was destroyed by a major fire that occurred on the night of September 2nd. The causes of the disaster are still being investigated by the Federal Police. At the time, the structure itself was criticized for even hindering the work of firefighters.

The Museum's activities should be resumed in a few days, after the Union Heritage Secretariat (SPU) ceded an area that will house research laboratories, in addition to visitation spaces. The land, located in São Cristóvão, has 49.3 thousand square meters, whose area will be shared with the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJ RJ).

This week, Alexandre Kellner, director of the institution, met with federal deputies in Brasília asking for funds for the reconstruction of the Museum. At the meeting, the manager asked for BRL 56 million in the form of parliamentary amendments. The amount would be allocated to the facade, one of the main historical parts, but the total work was estimated at R$ 300 million.