Cheddar Man: Oldest Complete Human Skeleton Found In Britain

In 1903, a 10,000-year-old skeleton was found inside a cave in Cheddar, Somerset nicknamed “Cheddar Man.”

Cheddar Man is the oldest complete skeleton of our species, Homo sapiens, ever found in Britain.

Radiocarbon dating carried out in the 1970s found that he lived around 10,000 years ago.

His ancient and world-famous remains now find a home at the Natural History Museum in London.

Groundbreaking research, documented on TV in 2018, found that Cheddar Man had dark skin, blue eyes and curly hair.

Research into ancient DNA extracted from the skeleton has helped scientists to build a portrait of Cheddar Man and his life in Mesolithic Britain.

The biggest surprise, perhaps, is that some of the earliest modern human inhabitants of Britain may not have looked the way you might expect.

The Natural History Museum researchers extracted the DNA from part of the skull near the ear known as the petrous.

At first, project scientists Prof Ian Barnes and Dr Selina Brace weren't sure if they'd get any DNA at all from the remains.

But they were in luck: not only was DNA preserved, but Cheddar Man has since yielded the highest coverage (a measure of the sequencing accuracy) for a genome from this period of European prehistory - known as the Mesolithic, or Middle Stone Age.

They teamed up with researchers at University College London to analyse the results, including gene variants associated with hair, eye and skin colour.

They found the Stone Age Briton had dark hair - with a small probability that it was curlier than average - blue eyes and skin that was probably dark brown or black in tone.

Dr Tom Booth is a postdoctoral researcher working closely with the Museum's human remains collection to investigate human adaptation to changing environments.

'Until recently, it was always assumed that humans quickly adapted to have paler skin after entering Europe about 45,000 years ago,' says Tom.

'Pale skin is better at absorbing UV light and helps humans avoid vitamin D deficiency in climates with less sunlight.'

However, Cheddar Man has the genetic markers of skin pigmentation usually associated with sub-Saharan Africa.

This discovery is consistent with a number of other Mesolithic human remains discovered throughout Europe.

'He is just one person, but also indicative of the population of Europe at the time, they had dark skin and most of them had pale coloured eyes, either blue or green, and dark brown hair,' says Tom.

'Cheddar Man subverts people's expectations of what kinds of genetic traits go together,' he adds.

'It seems that pale eyes entered Europe long before pale skin or blond hair, which didn't come along until after the arrival of farming.'

'He reminds us that you can't make assumptions about what people looked like in the past based on what people look like in the present, and that the pairings of features we are used to seeing today aren't something that's fixed.'

Cheddar Man was relatively small compared to modern Europeans, with an estimated stature of around 5 ft 5 inches, and weighing around 146 lb.

It is believed that his community lived in groups of 30 to 50 people in shelters made of wood and animal skin.

He was part of a population of hunter-gatherers, and his healthy teeth suggest he had a good diet which likely consisted of red deer, aurochs (large wild cattle extinct since the seventeenth century) and some freshwater fish, alongside fruit, seeds and nuts.

His group would have used tools like flint spears on wooden shafts to hunt. 

It is thought that he was in his twenties when he died - fractures on the surface of the skull suggest he may even have met his demise in a violent manner.

It's not known how he came to lie in the cave, but it's possible he was placed there by others in his tribe.

It is not unusual for mesolithic remains to be found in caves, it is unusual in that he was found buried alone, when it was common at the time to have communal burials.  

So it is suggested that either he might have been special in someway or that he may just have curled up and died there.

His skeleton was uncovered in 1903 during improvements to drainage for Gough's Cave, a popular tourist attraction.

Modern-day British people share approximately 10% of their genetic ancestry with the European population to which Cheddar Man belonged, but they aren't direct descendants.

Current thinking is that the Mesolithic population that Cheddar Man belonged to was mostly replaced by the farmers that migrated into Britain later.

Today, Cheddar Gorge is not only one of Britain's most spectacular natural landmarks, but also a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the newly formed Mendip Hills National Landscape.

The Gorge boasts awe-inspiring cliffs and extraordinary subterranean stalactite show caves, plus many fascinating secrets about our prehistoric ancestors.

At almost 400 feet deep and three miles long, this is England’s largest gorge, and with its weathered crags and pinnacles, one of our most spectacular natural sights.

The gorge would have begun forming about one million years ago during the last Ice Age when water from melting glaciers formed a river, which over time started to carve into the limestone rock creating the steep cliffs you see today.

The Cheddar Yeo River gradually made its way underground, creating the famous Cheddar Caves.

It is also an international centre for caving and rock climbing.

The reviews on TripAdvisor are great, one recent visitor said: “This is a must see attraction, it may seem a bit pricey as we heard some people with families complain, but I thought it was good value.

”You get to explore two caves, both exceptionally good, then there is a small museum with artefacts.

“And then if you have any energy left you can climb the 270+ Jacob Ladder steps and then some more to climb the look out tower for stunning views.”

You can book your visit in advance via their website - we advise checking opening times in advance.

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