Britain's 'Cheddar Man' Had Dark Skin, Blue Eyes- Scientists Find

A likeness of “Cheddar Man,” Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, at the Natural History Museum. Genetic evidence showed that he was dark-skinned and blue eyed, scientists said. Credit London Natural History Museum
A likeness of “Cheddar Man,” Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, at the Natural History Museum. Genetic evidence showed that he was dark-skinned and blue eyed, scientists said. Credit London Natural History Museum
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Britain's 'Cheddar Man' Had Dark Skin, Blue Eyes- Scientists Find

A likeness of “Cheddar Man,” Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, at the Natural History Museum. Genetic evidence showed that he was dark-skinned and blue eyed, scientists said. Credit London Natural History Museum
A likeness of “Cheddar Man,” Britain’s oldest complete human skeleton, at the Natural History Museum. Genetic evidence showed that he was dark-skinned and blue eyed, scientists said. Credit London Natural History Museum

“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.

The finding suggests that the lighter skin pigmentation now seen as typical of northern Europeans is far more recent than previously thought, according to researchers from University College London (UCL) who took part in the project.

Cheddar Man’s skin color was described as “dark to black” by the scientific team which also included researchers from London’s Natural History Museum, where the skeleton is on display in the Human Evolution gallery.

“To go beyond what the bones tell us and get a scientifically based picture of what he actually looked like is a remarkable, and from the results quite surprising achievement,” said Chris Stringer, the museum’s research leader in Human Origins.

Unearthed in 1903 in a cave at Cheddar Gorge, in the county of Somerset, the Mesolithic-era man was a hunter-gatherer whose ancestors migrated into Europe at the end of the last Ice Age.

Three hundred generations later, around 10 percent of indigenous British ancestry can be linked to Cheddar Man’s people, scientists say.

As part of a project commissioned by Britain’s Channel 4 television station for a documentary, experts from the Natural History Museum’s ancient DNA lab drilled a tiny hole into the skull in order to extract genetic information.

The DNA was unusually well-preserved, enabling the scientists to sequence Cheddar Man’s genome for the first time and to analyze it to establish aspects of his appearance.

Then, a pair of Dutch artists who are experts in paleontology model making, Alfons and Adrie Kennis, used a high-tech scanner to make a three-dimensional model of Cheddar Man’s head.

The model, which UCL and the Natural History Museum said rendered Cheddar Man’s face with unprecedented accuracy, shows a man with dark skin, high cheekbones, blue eyes and coarse black hair.

The model will be shown on the Channel 4 documentary, which is scheduled to be aired on Feb. 18.

Selina Brace, one of the Natural History Museum’s ancient DNA experts who took part in sequencing Cheddar Man’s genome, was quoted as saying the model was “really, really cool”.



Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
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Milan’s Historic La Scala Cracks Down on Tourist Dress Code

Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)
Milan’s La Scala opera house is an important Italian music institution dating back to the 16th century (Getty Images)

A historic opera house in Milan has cracked down on patrons and tourists entering the prestigious venue wearing summer attire such as shorts, tank tops and flip flops, warning they will be turned away if not dressed appropriately.

The opera was seen as a symbol of wealth and exclusivity in 19th-century high society, and the bourgeois elite of this time period would have been expected to turn up in tailcoats, cravats and long evening dresses, The Independent newspaper wrote on Monday.

While this opulent attire is not expected of patrons nowadays, it said Milan’s Teatro alla Scala opera house, commonly known as La Scala, has recently reinforced its smart dress code in the wake of opera-goers turning up in casual summer fashion.

“The public is kindly requested to dress in keeping with the decorum of the theater, out of respect for the theater and for other viewers,” La Scala’s policy said.

“People wearing shorts or sleeveless T-shirts will not be allowed inside the auditorium; in this case, tickets will not be reimbursed.”

The venue also has signs around the foyer and on tickets stating the same message, warning patrons that they will not get a refund if they turn up wearing clothes not in keeping with the “decorum.”

The rules over informal clothing were first introduced in 2015 when the summer season coincided with the World Expo in Milan, as a way to deter the influx of tourists turning up in summer wear.

“There are no special dress code requirements at La Scala,” a spokesperson at the theater told The Independent. “We are delighted that some of our audience members consider an evening at La Scala to be a special occasion and dress accordingly, but our priority is to welcome everyone and make sure they feel comfortable.

“This is precisely why, in 2015, we introduced restrictions on clothing that could cause discomfort to other audience members who have to share the often limited space of an 18th-century theater.

“With the return of summer (an especially hot one), we reminded the audience of these rules, which have remained unchanged for ten years.

“It would not be right to tell spectators how to dress, but it is necessary that they do dress, as not to cause discomfort to other people,” the spokesperson added.

La Scala’s spokesman added that there had been a “change in behavior led by visitors who do not follow opera but see La Scala as a landmark.”