“Cheddar Man”, Britain’s oldest, nearly complete human skeleton, had dark skin, blue eyes and dark curly hair when he lived in what is now southwest England 10,000 years ago, scientists who read his DNA have discovered. Known as "Cheddar Man" after the area in southwest England where his skeleton was discovered in a cave in 1903, the ancient man has been brought to life through the first ever full DNA analysis of his remains. (LONDON) — DNA from a 10,000-year-old skeleton found in an English cave suggests the oldest-known Briton had dark skin and blue eyes, researchers said Wednesday.Scientists from Britain’s Natural History Museum and University College London analyzed the genome of “Cheddar Man,” who was found in Cheddar Gorge in southwest England in 1903.Scientists led by museum DNA expert Ian Barnes drilled into the skull to extract DNA from bone powder. “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.”

It’s thought ancient humans living in northern regions may have developed pale skin because it absorbs more sunlight, which is needed to produce vitamin D.

Cheddar Man shares a genetic profile with several other Mesolithic-era individuals found in Spain, Hungary and Luxembourg whose DNA has already been analyzed. Extra mature Cheddar

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.
Without peer-review publication researchers at London's Natural History Museum state that the DNA extracted from "Cheddar Man" reveals that early inhabitants of Great Britain had blue eyes and dark skin. The name "Cheddar Man" was given to a fossil of a human man that lived thousands of years ago, which was discovered in 1903. Some scientists in the field state that the sample may have been contaminated with modern DNA weakening the results.