10 000 Years Ago, This is What People in England Looked Like
DNA analysis of the Cheddar Man skeleton reveals his secrets.
One hundred and fifteen years ago, the remains on a human was found in Gough’s Cave, located in Somerset’s Cheddar Gorge. This skeleton was nicknamed Cheddar Man. He lived about ten thousand years ago.
With the advancement of science, the man’s DNA was extracted and analysed and now, we get to see his face.
BBC/Youtube
He had dark skin and blue eyes with slightly curly hair. He stood about 161 cm (5ft 5in). He could not digest milk.
BBC/Youtube
Researchers also found that Cheddar Man was closely related to Western Hunter-Gatherers who have been analysed from Spain, Luxembourg and Hungary. Scientist say Europeans today share about 10% of their DNA with Mesolithic people like Cheddar Man.
So, when did Britons become light skinned as they are now known to be? According to the BBC:
Pale skin probably arrived in Britain with a migration of people from the Middle East around 6,000 years ago. This population had pale skin and brown eyes and absorbed populations like the ones Cheddar Man belonged to.
Click HERE for more on the story from the BBC.
