The first ancient Britons had black skin, dark curly hair and blue eyes, according to DNA tests. The ‘extraordinary’ findings were made by cutting-edge genetic tests and facial reconstruction techniques carried out for the first time on the bones of ‘Cheddar Man’ who died 10,000 years ago.
The bones, found in Somerset's Cheddar Gorge, are the oldest near-complete human skeleton ever found in Britain and scientists said they were surprised to discover that the earliest Briton would be considered ‘black’ if he lived today.
The research suggests the first inhabitants of the British isles developed white skin later on than previously thought.
Experts also revealed that Cheddar Man is directly related to 1 in 10 people living in the UK today. The Natural History Museum and Channel 4 unveiled a reconstruction of the ancient human yesterday, which was made for a documentary: The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man.
Cheddar Man’s bones caused a sensation when they were unearthed in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset in 1903.
For more than 100 years, scientists have tried to reveal Cheddar Man’s story, posing theories as to what he looked like, where he came from and what he can tell us about our earliest ancestors. <!-- Global site tag (gtag.js) - Google Analytics -->
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