Luttra Woman

Several anthropological studies have reported no evidence of injuries or fatal diseases on her remains. Researchers concluded that she had likely been bound and placed in shallow water at or shortly after her death. Axel Bagge, an archaeologist who took part in the initial examination, proposed that her death may have resulted from deliberate drowning, either as a human sacrifice or as the consequence of a witch execution. An alternative interpretation suggested that the bindings were part of a water burial ritual performed after her death from unrelated causes. Since 1994, her skeleton has been part of the permanent exhibition ('Prehistory in Falbygden') at the in Falköping, Sweden. In June 2011, the museum added a forensic bust reconstruction to the display.

Discovery

On 20 May 1943, whilst cutting peat in Rogestorp—a raised bog within the bog complex in Falbygden near Luttra—Carl Wilhelmsson, a resident of the neighbouring , discovered one of the skeleton's hands at a depth of below the surface. was an archaeological site for prehistoric human and animal remains. Between the 1920s and 1950s, local antiquarians documented many such finds, often uncovered during the expansion of peat extraction in the area. Many of these remains in Falbygden were relatively well-preserved, aided by the region's carbonate-rich bedrock, which enhanced the natural preservation process. Svensson inspected the find the following day and forwarded a discovery report to the Board, requesting expert assistance. The Board dispatched geologist and archaeologist , along with palynologist Carl Larsson, both from the Geological Survey of Sweden. A segment of the skeleton had been inadvertently cut through during Wilhelmsson's peat extraction; nevertheless, the skull remained in its discovery position. A more comprehensive physical anthropological investigation was conducted by Sahlström, osteologist , and anatomist Carl-Herman Hjortsjö; their findings, including a detailed description of the remains, were published in 1952.

Dahr assessed the skeleton as that of a young female. Analysis of strontium and oxygen isotope ratios in the tooth enamel from one of the Luttra Woman's molars indicated that she likely originated from present-day Scania, the southernmost region of Sweden, before relocating to the Falbygden area later in life. Strontium incorporated in a developing tooth, in particular, does not change, partly because there is no blood supply to dentine or tooth enamel. Attempts to extract DNA from her remains have been unsuccessful , due to the degradation of the bones by the bog environment. Bagge postulated that she had been deliberately drowned, proposing the hypothesis that she was the victim of either a human sacrifice ritual or a witch execution. In 1994, the skeleton was loaned to the in Falköping and made available for public viewing. Since then, it has been part of the museum's permanent exhibition ('Prehistory in Falbygden'). The museum expanded the exhibition in June 2011 with a reconstructed bust of her, created by Oscar Nilsson, an archaeologist and model-maker trained in sculpture.

To create the bust of the Luttra Woman, Nilsson arranged for her skull to be CT scanned at the Karolinska Institute, a research-focused medical university in Stockholm. Utilising the scanned data, he commissioned a full-scale replica of the skull to be 3D printed in polyvinyl chloride, and manually affixed dozens of markers to the replica to indicate the estimated soft tissue thickness. He then moulded facial muscles, and added a thin layer of clay skin onto the replica for the finer details of her facial features. In the absence of DNA analysis, he was compelled to make assumptions regarding her hair and eye colour.