The Cheddar Man skeleton was dug up in Gough Cave in 1903 by men who were digging a drainage trench in Cheddar Gorge. The remains of the young man were sealed under a stalagmite, and the man was indicated to have died when he was in his early 20s. The Cheddar Man was recognized to be about 10,000 years old (Mckie, 2018). An analysis of the DNA of the skeleton was conducted revealing that Cheddar Man originated from Africa. The evidence changes the perspectives of human origin and supports the migration theory where early man moved and settled to areas they found best suited for their operations such as hunting and gathering.
The DNA of Cheddar Man indicated that h sews darker in pigmentation and had eyes with blue colors. The discovery supports the evidence of the first human beings having originated from Africa. The “Out of Africa” or early migration of Homo sapiens indicates that human beings moved from Africa to other parts of the worlds in search of better hunting and gathering sites. The Homo sapiens are believed to have inhabited the Horn Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years. As early as 270,000 years ago, the Homo sapiens began dispersing to other parts of the world. The Mesolithic group which moved to Europe settled there less than 55,000 years ago. Therefore, natural selection had already taken place in Cheddar Man was not the first generation to settle in the place. It explains the paler skin and the blue eyes, unlike the hunters and gathers who were left in Africa who was black with dark eyes. However, it is an indication that Cheddar Man migrated from Africa to Europe either as a pastoralist or a farmer (Ramachandran, Deshpande, Roseman, Rosenberg, Feldman & Cavalli-Sforza, 2005).
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After the discovery of the skeletons, both historians and scientists had assumptions concerning the dark skin, black hair, and blue eyes. Through the analysis of the information, it led to the changing of the ancestry of the British people. However, there were some implications associated with the truth, especially with the changes in skin color over time. Mark Thomas from the University College of London conducted one of the recent studies on Cheddar Man, and he indicated that 10 % of the British ancestry is traced to the Cheddar Man. It is an indication that if the Mesolithic folk was from Africa, then the migration theory is correct and the Britons are also from Africa, only that they underwent natural selection.
The analysis of the DNA indicated that an average Briton is carrying 10 % of the genes of the ancient hunters and gathers. Ten percent is very little in genetic makeup thus describing the large difference which exists such as in skin and eyes color between Cheddar Man and a modern Briton. Cheddar Man is classified as a Mesolithic age folk because he was a nomadic hunter and some of their people moved to Hungary, Spain, and Luxembourg where such more remains have been discovered. Because of their adaptation, the skin of these people was dark with blue eyes, similar to Cheddar Man (Seligman & Parsons, 1914).
Through the Cheddar Man is believed that he will change the perspective of the origin of man. There are some few concerns related to the discovery of the skeleton. Since the skeleton was predicted to be 10,000 years, could DNA survive that long? Researchers indicated that DNA can survive in the bones and teeth for a very long time as long as the correct environmental conditions are provided. The oldest DNA found preserved in the Canadian permafrost dates more than 550,000 years, and it was from a horse bone. When the DNA is found in the cave, it can be viable because the temperate environments are provided. In Europe, there oldest DNA that was extracted and analyzed from human remains was from 35,000 years. Therefore, if the DNA from the Cheddar Man was extracted and analyzed, it could be from the good preservation and the information could be used in changing the perspective about the origin of a man (Trenton & Churchill, 2003).
The query on the skin color of the Cheddar Man could be answered from the improved technology perspective. Since the DNA of Cheddar Man had been extracted and analyzed successfully, it could be used in establishing other factors in relation to the skeleton. There are forensic tools which are used in prediction of skin pigmentation. After the study, it was indicated that the skin pigmentation of the Cheddar Man could fit in the two categories of dark or dark-black colors. Considering that the Cheddar Man was among the oldest human beings, it can support the theory where first human beings were from Africa. The “Out of Africa” theory outlines the migration of humans before the continental drift (Ramachandran, Deshpande, Roseman, Rosenberg, Feldman & Cavalli-Sforza, 2005). They moved to other places such as Europe where the Cheddar Man was found in search of better places to settle. It was during that time that the Cheddar Man moved to Europe, settled there and multiplied and that is why his color pigmentation was found out to be black.
Some historians indicate that finding the color pigmentation of the Cheddar Man being black could not be surprising. There were other Mesolithic remains dug in Hungary, Spain, and Luxembourg which did not have the light skin pigmentation (Trenton & Churchill, 2003). The same population is where the Cheddar Man belonged, and the group of people were referred to as the western European Mesolithic hunters-and gatherers. The information supports further the migration of the early man to other nations around the world. These people went looking for better places where they could hunt and gather to sustain their families. Each group moved together either through the southern part or following the water sources such as the Nile to areas where they found most suitable. Whichever the route the early man, it led to new settlements around the world and Cheddar Man moved to Europe where his remains were found.
Some historians have tried to refute the theory of Cheddar Man originating in Africa. There are speculations that Cheddar Man may have been a tourist from Africa or an escaped slave. However, the analysis on the bone remains indicated that radiocarbon had been dater twice and the results indicated that the dead period was 10,000 years ago. During that period, tourism and slavery were not being practiced. Human beings were hunters and gatherers, and they would move around the world looking for regions that would favor their activities (Mckie, 2018). Tourism grew later after the man had learned how to use improved tools and made different discoveries. There were no leaders or ambitious people with large lands and industries and used free labor offered by the slaves. Therefore, Cheddar Man settlement was in Europe.
The question of how the Europeans developed the dark skin is associated with the discovery of the Cheddar Man. The answers provided support the “Out of Africa” theory of migration. The historians indicated that the paler skin in Europe dates back to the migration waves. The early man moved to Europe in two waves, and a thousand years later, the Cheddar Man passed on. One of the waves was with the migration of Near Eastern farmers while the other wave carried the pastoralists. The on-going natural selection favored the early man with the lighter skin pigmentation for the last 9,000 years. Since the skin of Cheddar Man was darker, it could have resulted from the need of UV which induced vitamin D analysis, and the skin became darker (Trenton & Churchill, 2003).
The DNA analysis of Cheddar Man skeleton indicated that it was maternal with haplogroup U5b1. The analysis of the DNA indicated that ten percent of the British ancestry could be linked to Cheddar Man. There is a large genetic variation among the people of modern British, and some are related to the western European Mesolithic hunters and gatherers. However, it is traced long ago as there were population turnovers after the death of Cheddar Man, which means there were lots of genetic changes. The hunters and gatherers also intermixed with other early men who migrated to Europe, thus explaining the fair skin people found in the nation in the contemporary world.
It is believed that when the continental drift took place, the hunters and the gatherers who were in the region such as Cheddar Man became the founding fathers and mothers of Britain. The dark melanin by the Cheddar Man is explained by their diet which was mostly made up of liver and fish and they were rich in vitamin D. the skeletons of Cheddar Man indicated that he had very healthy teeth, which is not only associated with his young age but also the good diet he took. The studies on blue eyes indicated that the color began to appear between 6000 to 10,000 years ago, the period when Cheddar Man existed (Seligman & Parsons, 1914). Studies show that the trait may have been picked and passed on to other generations. It is through migration that the cultural change was brought about and natural selection explains the large variation between then and now, especially in skin color.
In conclusion, the discovery of the Cheddar Man confirms the migration theory from Africa. The early men were hunters and gatherers, and they moved from one place to the next looking for a suitable area to gather and hunt. The migration happened in two waves, with the farmers and pastoralists moving two different directions. It was during the farmers’ wave that Cheddar Man and the rest of his group moved to Europe where they settled. The DNA analysis of the Cheddar Man skeleton indicated the dark skin pigmentation, which is a trait that was passed down to other generations. Natural selection took place over hundreds of year to explain the clear completion of the current Britons. The analysis indicated that a normal Briton carries 10 % of the genetic makeup; thus they all trace their ancestry back in Africa.
References
Mckie, R. (2018, Feb 10). Cheddar Man changes the way we think about our ancestors. Retrieved October 1, 2018, from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/feb/10/cheddar-man-changed-way-we-think-about-ancestors
Ramachandran, S., Deshpande, O., Roseman, C. C., Rosenberg, N. A., Feldman, M. W., & Cavalli-Sforza, L. L. (2005). Support from the relationship of genetic and geographic distance in human populations for a serial founder effect originating in Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(44), 15942-15947.
Seligman, C. G., & Parsons, F. G. (1914). The Cheddar Man: A Skeleton of Late Palaeolithic Date. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 44, 241-263.
Trenton, H. W. & Churchill, S. E. (June 2003) “Gough’s Cave 1 (Somerset, England): An Assessment of Body Size and Shape” Bulletin of the Natural History Museum: Geology Series Supplement 1, Vol. 58, p37-44 8.
