XIAN, CHINA—Were the 7,000 soldiers of the Terracotta Army modeled after individual soldiers? Archaeologists from the University College London and Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Museum have used imaging technology to create 3-D models of the left ears of 30 model warriors. Human ear shapes, like fingerprints, are unique enough to identify individuals. Statistical analysis of the measurements of the 3-D ears shows that no two ears in the sample group were exactly the same. “Based on this initial sample, the terra-cotta army looks like a series of portraits of real warriors,” archaeologist Marcos Martinón-Torres of the University College London told National Geographic News. The team members of the project, known as Imperial Logistics: The Making of the Terracotta Army, is now analyzing a larger sample of statue ears and other facial features.
