“First modern Britons had ‘dark to black’ skin, Cheddar Man DNA analysis reveals”
“It was initially assumed that Cheddar Man had pale skin and fair hair, but his DNA paints a different picture, strongly suggesting he had blue eyes, a very dark brown to black complexion and dark curly hair.
The discovery shows that the genes for lighter skin became widespread in European populations far later than originally thought — and that skin colour was not always a proxy for geographic origin in the way it is often seen to be today…
The results pointed to a Middle Eastern origin for Cheddar Man, suggesting that his ancestors would have left Africa, moved into the Middle East and later headed west into Europe, before eventually crossing the ancient land bridge called Doggerlandwhich connected Britain to continental Europe. Today, about 10% of white British ancestry can be linked to this ancient population.”
Aaaah what if all the early human inhabitants of Europe were dark-skinned? I mean, actually, obviously they were. At least definitely darker than they are now, humans can migrate faster than we can genetically adapt. How did I never think about this?
Related: The direct link to the museum if you want it
