Who is the Cheddar Man? Mesolithic skeleton shares DNA with British history teacher 

A recent DNA report of a 10,000-year-old skeleton named Cheddar Man found a match with a history teacher from Britain.

Cheddar Man is Britain’s oldest human skeleton that was found at Somerset’s Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge in 1903. It received its name after the place it was discovered in.

The Mesolithic skeleton is considered to belong to the first modern Briton to have lived around 7150 BC. Cheddar Man’s remains are currently preserved at the National History Museum’s Human Evolution gallery in London.

In recent DNA detection work, scientists collected the skeleton's DNA from the genetic material excavated from a cavity in one of its molar teeth and identified 62-year-old Adrian Targett as its direct progeny.

Adrian is a retired history teacher from Somerset. Four years ago, he saw a similar-looking face in several newspapers when he went to visit a local newsagent.

It is presumed that Cheddar Man died in his twenties. There's a huge hole in his skull. It's uncertain whether the hole is related to his death or from damage at the time of excavation.

The man supposedly had a good diet and lived in Britain when the population was almost completely reduced. The previous population, which had settled in Britain before Cheddar Man's arrival, was wiped out by the time he was there.

It was found that the group of people he genetically belonged to were called the "Western Hunter-Gatherers." They were individuals from Spain, Luxembourg, and Hungary during the Mesolithic era.

Cheddar Man's ancestors migrated from the Middle East to Europe after the Ice Age. Today, only 10% of the British people that are white have descended from this group.

His face has been reconstructed by scientists several times. The shape of his skull has helped them construct a presumable appearance of the first Brits.

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Cheddar Man's skin color debate

Recently, a DNA study was conducted on the skeleton using cutting-edge technology. This led researchers to build a forensic reconstruction of Cheddar Man's facial features, eye color, skin, and hair texture.

Based on these findings, this progenitor was lactose intolerant. He had light-colored eyes – along the lines of blue, green, or hazel. His hair was black or dark brown, and he had dark to black skin. He could also probably have had an intermediate skin color.

Many genetic variants can reduce pigmentation. However, a pre-historic version of all these variants was found in the skeleton, which suggested that the man most likely had a darker skin tone.

Mr. Targett, the descendant, wasn't informed about all these new findings. He also didn't know that a new reconstruction of his ancestor's face was unveiled at the Natural History Museum. When he heard about it, he jokingly said:

“I do feel a bit more multicultural now. And I can definitely see that there is a family resemblance. That nose is similar to mine. And we have both got those blue eyes.”

Based on the initial research analysis from 1997, Mr. Targett shared a common maternal ancestor with Cheddar Man. Their genes were passed through generations from mother to daughter via mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother's egg.

But the skin color debate remains unresolved.

One of the scientists to help create the reconstruction of a face that existed 10,000 years ago has claimed that this face may not have been darker in color at all.

Geneticist Susan Walsh claims that no DNA test can accurately confirm the 10,000 years-old ancestor's skin color since the DNA sample may have degenerated over the years. However, the most probable test results hint at the man having dark skin.

Dr. Rick Schulting, a professor of archeology at Oxford University, said that people might have to rethink their notions of what it is to be British and what they expect a Briton to look like.