FIRST-EVER BRIT WAS A BLACK IMMIGRANT
Secret of 10,000yr-old Cheddar Man revealed
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THE first ever Briton was a black immigrant from Europe.
“Cheddar Man” – the oldest skeleton found in the UK – had black skin, curly hair and blue eyes.
And now experts say analysing the 10,000-year-old remains has changed the idea of what it means to be British.
Prof Ian Barnes and Dr Selina Brace, of London’s Natural History Museum, extracted hair and skin DNA profiles from the bones which were found at Gough’s Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Som, in 1903.
Model makers Adrie and Alfons Kennis then reconstructed his head using a 3D printer and a scanner made for the International Space Station. Alfons said: “People define themselves by which country they’re from, and they assume that their ancestors were just like them.
“And then suddenly research shows that we used to be a totally different people with a different genetic makeup.
“So people will be surprised. And it maybe gets rid of the idea that you have to look a certain way to be from somewhere. We are all immigrants.”
Europeans were previously thought to have developed paler skin thousands of years before Cheddar Man. But scientists now believe lighter skin came about much more recently.
The story of Cheddar Man, in his 20s, 5ft 5in tall, and weighing 10st, is told in Channel 4’s The First Brit: Secrets Of The 10,000 Year Old Man, on February 18.