Cheddar Man First In Britain, Dark Skin Blue Eyes

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

Cheddar Man, found in a cave around the area of Cheddar had been there for 10,000 years.

Scientists were able to retrieve his genetic makeup and create a bust of his head with facial reconstruction and tell the color of his skin and eyes, and what his hair was like.

He and his people were the first known to settle there. DNA testing says he was the ancestor of one in ten people now in Britain.

This is such exciting news!

BBC NEWS

"Researchers from London's Natural History Museum extracted DNA from Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton, which was discovered in 1903.

University College London researchers then used the subsequent genome analysis for a facial reconstruction.

It underlines the fact that the lighter skin characteristic of modern Europeans is a relatively recent phenomenon.

No prehistoric Briton of this age had previously had their genome analysed.

As such, the analysis provides valuable new insights into the first people to resettle Britain after the last Ice Age.

The analysis of Cheddar Man's genome - the "blueprint" for a human, contained in the nuclei of our cells - will be published in a journal, and will also feature in the upcoming Channel 4 documentary The First Brit, Secrets Of The 10,000-year-old Man.

Report here:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42939192

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

CHEDDAR MAN

Image result for cheddar man

JaneMarple · ‎05-23-2011

@Noel7 I read this story earlier today and my first reaction was WOW! Fascinating to say the least, comments about are going to be mighty interesting in the days and weeks to come.

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GingerPeach · ‎03-12-2010

I think that is fascinating. He must be the great++++++ grandfather of any number of us.

But forgive me, I can't help thinking of his head on display at a cheese contest in Wisconsin or other spots that have cheese contests. Or, of course, in Cheddar, England itself!

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Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

wrote:
@Noel7 I read this story earlier today and my first reaction was WOW! Fascinating to say the least, comments about are going to be mighty interesting in the days and weeks to come.

@JaneMarple

Mine was "WOW" too. My daughter woke me up late last night to show me the BBC report and we couldn't stop talking about it.

It's amazing what they can tell now from one's genomes. My Ancestry & Me report told me I definitely had little to no black hair and that it wasn't curly, among other tidbits.

Light skin came in much later along the time line.

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

wrote:
I think that is fascinating. He must be the great++++++ grandfather of any number of us.

But forgive me, I can't help thinking of his head on display at a cheese contest in Wisconsin or other spots that have cheese contests. Or, of course, in Cheddar, England itself!

ITA @GingerPeach ! And that would also mean a lot of us are related!

Yes, I get a kick out of the cheese connection, too, LOL.

goldensrbest · ‎03-10-2010

I think he looks very much like the mixed race we see every day,it is fascinating they can do this ,blue eyes.

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deepwaterdotter · ‎03-09-2010

Welcome to Cheesehead Nation!

cherry · ‎03-09-2010

I think he looks like 2 distinct races ,in one person. His eyes and features look Caucasian to me ,while his skin and hair look like they belong to a person of color...It makes for a startling concept about our ancestors

Noel7 · ‎03-09-2010

wrote:
I think he looks very much like the mixed race we see every day,it is fascinating they can do this ,blue eyes.

@goldensrbest

He does look very modern, that's what they said, too, he and his were the first "Modern Humans" in that area.

It surprises me that two of the oldest modern humans found both had blue eyes, the other one is Otzi who lived 5000 years ago. Maybe just coincidence.