It was just revealed through DNA analysis that the man recognized as the first modern Brit had a “dark to black” Skin tone.
However, using the DNA extracted from his skull, researchers from the London Natural History Museum and University College London surmised that “Cheddar Man” had blue eyes, dark curly hair and dark skin.
“The discovery suggests that the lighter pigmentation now considered to be a defining feature of northern Europe is a far more recent phenomenon,” the researchers wrote in a statement.
(Credit: London Natural History Museum/REX/Shutterstock)People with pale skin likely arrived in Britain about 6,000 years ago, according to the BBC , via migration from the Middle East.
Europeans and Britons of the Mesolithic Era, to which “Cheddar Man” belongs, would have had a similar genetic make-up to him.
“’Cheddar Man’s’ genetic profile places him with several other Mesolithic-era Europeans from Spain, Hungary and Luxembourg whose DNA has already been analyzed,” Professor Mark Thomas of UCL noted in the statement .
Approximately 10 percent of Europeans are believed to be descendants of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers like “Cheddar Man.”
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- Meet Cheddar Man: First modern Britons had dark skin and blue eyesAlaska Dispatch News
- 'Cheddar Man,' Britain's Oldest Skeleton, Had Dark Skin, DNA ShowsNew York Times
- Ancient Briton had dark skin and blue eyes, scientists findAOL
- Britain's oldest skeleton had dark skin and blue eyes, and the internet is ...ThinkProgress
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