Including The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man
DNA TESTING on a 10,000-year-old skeleton gives a human face to ‘cheddar man’
‘He’s a survivor who’s come through to the present day’ professor chris stringer
WITH IMMIGRATION AND Britain’s relationship with Europe at the top of the political agenda, there’s a topical feel to Channel 4’s new documentary – even though it’s about a man who lived on our island 10,000 years ago.
SENSATIONAL FIND
In 1903, a remarkably well-preserved human skeleton from 7150 BC was found in a cave in Cheddar Gorge – and caused a sensation when it was exhibited at London’s Natural History Museum.
More than a century after the ‘Cheddar Man’ was discovered, advances in DNA analysis have allowed scientists to unlock the skeleton’s secrets by revealing the colour of his eyes, hair and skin.
Using this information and working from a 3D-printed model of his skull, Dutch model makers Alfons and Adrie Kennis, who are twin brothers, set out to produce a fleshed-out version of Cheddar Man’s head, which is unveiled at the end of the film.
The programme-makers wanted to know what Cheddar Man looked like, where his ancestors were from and how he relates to Britons today. And what they discovered surprised everyone working on the project.
GREAT BRITON
The DNA from the skeleton revealed that Cheddar Man, who had entered Britain across the land bridge that used to link us with Continental Europe, had blue eyes and dark skin.
His tribe of hunter-gatherers arrived in Britain at the end of the last ice age, making him the first modern Briton.
‘In terms of the big picture he’s a relative late arrival,’ says Professor Chris Stringer, who works at the museum and appears in the programme.
‘He is one of the survivors, in a sense, who’s come through to the present day.’
And, for the film’s director, Steve Clarke, the remarkable story of
Cheddar Man is one that speaks directly to us in pre-brexit Britain.
‘There is a national debate about race, immigration and our relationship with Europe,’ says Clarke.‘and it feels like all those things are in the mix. This is still basically a film about an interesting DNA project on a skeleton from 10,000 years ago. But it also speaks to us now.’