Meet Cheddar Man: First modern Britons had dark skin and blue eyes

(Channel 4/Plimsoll Productions photo by London Natural History Museum)

They call him Cheddar Man.

He lived more than 10,000 years ago, had brown hair, blue eyes and 'dark to black' skin. To the surprise of many, he is believed to have been the first modern Briton.

A new project from London's Natural History Museum and University College London has revealed groundbreaking DNA results that give a much clearer image of early British inhabitants. Cheddar Man's skeleton was discovered in 1903 in Gough's Cave, located in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset, England. It is thought that the cool temperature in the cave helped to preserve the skeleton's valuable DNA.

[Mysterious circle of intertwined human skeletons unearthed by Mexican archaeologists]

“If the body was deposited in a good environment, where there was a cool and constant temperature, then the petrous bone is a good place to find useful ancient DNA,” said Selina Brace, who specializes in the study of ancient DNA. Scientists obtained DNA from Cheddar Man by drilling a 2-millimeter hole in his skull and extracting bone powder.

Initially, it was assumed that the man, who died in his 20s, had pale skin, but new analysis and facial reconstruction have revealed quite the opposite. It is now believed that Cheddar Man’s ancestors arrived in Britain via the Middle East after leaving Africa.

“He is just one person but also indicative of the population of Europe at the time,” said Tom Booth, a researcher at the museum. “They had dark skin, and most of them had pale-colored eyes, either blue or green, and dark brown hair.”

Hence Cheddar Man, Booth said, “subverts people's expectations of what kinds of genetic traits go together.”

[Scientists discover the oldest human fossils outside Africa]

Experts say the ancestor was a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer who would have spent his days carving tools, fishing and hunting animals. It is believed Cheddar Man is related to 1 in 10 people living across the United Kingdom today. (Researchers also claim that, ironically, Cheddar Man was lactose intolerant.) It is not yet known how he died.

It didn't take long for Cheddar Man to trend worldwide on Twitter. Reactions to the extraordinary findings were mixed. Some praised the work of those involved with the reconstruction of Britain's oldest skeleton.

“Some excellent work by some brilliant colleagues — dark skinned and blue eyed Cheddar Man, one of the first successful colonizers of Britain. How cool is this?” one Twitter user said.

Others focused on the racial tension in Britain and pointed out that perhaps not all Brits would be happy about their ties to the ancient human.

“Oh my. There's going to be some very unhappy racist Britons out there today,” read one tweet.

In true British style, many social media users reacted to Wednesday's news with celebrity comparisons and cheese-related puns that did not disappoint.

“Cheddar man: Black Britons date fromages ago,” tweeted one user.

Despite the scientific development, some appeared to be disheartened to discover that the Cheddar Man trending topic was unrelated to food.

“Quite disappointed seeing that 'Cheddar Man' is trending to find out that the first Briton wasn't in fact made of cheese,” one tweeted.

Quite disappointed seeing that 'Cheddar Man' is trending to find out that the first Briton wasn't in fact made of cheese
— Miles (@MilesMH92) February 7, 2018

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, television personality Piers Morgan was quick to compare the ancient fossil to successful business magnate Lord Alan Sugar.

I think I’ve solved the mystery of Cheddar Man. pic.twitter.com/MlEWS4NK8o
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 7, 2018

New archaeological reconstruction of Cheddar Man. pic.twitter.com/ca8HQX3iDL
— Mark Wallace (@wallaceme) February 7, 2018

The model of Cheddar Man was created by Kennis & Kennis Reconstructions using 3-D printing. It is on display in the Human Evolution Gallery at London's Natural History Museum. Cheddar Man's complete skeleton has been loaned to the museum and is also on display.

British station Channel 4 will air a TV documentary entitled “The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000-Year-Old Man” next week.

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