Cheddar Man: DNA Reveals Dark Skin and Blue Eyes in Mesolithic Britain

Cheddar Man, a Mesolithic hunter-gatherer, was uncovered in 1903 during drainage work at Gough’s Cave, Cheddar Gorge, Somerset. Radiocarbon dating places his death around 10,000 years ago, when Britain was linked to Europe. He was about 166 cm tall, died in his twenties, and was lactose intolerant, a trait shared by all Mesolithic Europeans.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

DNA from Cheddar Man’s petrous bone shows dark skin and blue or green eyes. The skin-pigmentation alleles resemble those common in sub-Saharan African groups, while the eye-colour alleles pre-date the Neolithic, indicating light eyes arrived before light skin. This overturns the view that early Europeans uniformly had pale skin, showing evolution of pigmentation traits.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

Cheddar Man’s group hunted red deer, aurochs, and freshwater fish and gathered seeds and nuts. Britain’s landscape was densely forested and attached to the continent. Nearby sites such as Star Carr have yielded amber beads and engraved pendants, indicating a culture. Unlike the communal burials typical of the region, Cheddar Man was interred alone, a circumstance that remains ambiguous.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

Natural History Museum researchers, led by Dr Selina Brace, sampled the dense petrous bone to preserve DNA. Fragmented DNA underwent next-generation shotgun sequencing, producing a genomic library mapped to a modern reference. The data informed a facial reconstruction by Kennis & Kennis Reconstructions, using tissue-depth standards and artistic interpretation.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

Museum scientists say Cheddar Man’s DNA matches other Mesolithic European samples, confirming a pattern of dark skin and light eyes before farming. They credit Gough’s Cave’s microclimate for preserving DNA.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

Records note that many bones, animal remains, flint tools and other artifacts were removed and discarded, limiting contextual data.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

It also remains uncertain whether Cheddar Man was deliberately buried or simply covered by sediment, and the cause of his forehead perforation is unresolved.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

• “'Until recently it was always assumed that humans quickly adapted to have paler skin after entering Europe about 45,000 years ago,' says Tom.” — Dr Tom Booth, Postdoctoral Researcher, Natural History Museum

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

• “' 'Cheddar Man subverts people's expectations of what kinds of genetic traits go together,' he adds.” — Dr Tom Booth

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

• “'Ancient DNA doesn't necessarily mean that the specimen you're working with is thousands of years old,' Selina explains.” — Dr Selina Brace, Ancient DNA Specialist

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

• “' 'We used to use leg bones or teeth as the thick bones and enamel keep DNA quite intact, but in the last two years we've shifted to using the petrous, or inner ear bone, which is the densest bone in the human body,' she says.” — Dr Selina Brace

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy

The team will sequence additional Mesolithic individuals from sites such as Aveline’s Hole and Star Carr to refine the timing of pigmentation changes and assess genetic diversity among early British hunter-gatherers.

Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy