RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,922
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
Aug 2, 2014 13:03:45 GMT
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Jul 8, 2024 11:44:05 GMT
I love this kind of thing. hasanjasim.online/300-generations-later-oldest-britons-dna-traced-to-history-teacher-living-half-a-mile-away-from-where-his-skeleton-was-found/300 Generations Later: Oldest Briton’s DNA Traced to History Teacher Living Half a Mile Away From Where His Skeleton Was Found Nestled in England’s picturesque Somerset region lies Cheddar Gorge, a limestone ravine hiding millennia-old secrets. In 1903, during drainage work at Gough’s Cave, a stunning discovery emerged: the nearly complete skeleton of a man who lived around 10,000 years ago. Known as Cheddar Man, this Mesolithic hunter-gatherer’s skeleton, found in a typical cave burial, fascinated scientists for decades. However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that a remarkable revelation surfaced, bridging a gap of about 300 generations. In 1996, University of Oxford’s Bryan Sykes extracted mitochondrial DNA from Cheddar Man’s molar, revealing a startling connection. Featured on the UK program “Once Upon a Time in the West,” the discovery linked Cheddar Man’s mitochondrial DNA haplogroup U5 to Adrian Targett, a local history teacher. This direct maternal lineage connection spans roughly 300 generations, highlighting Targett as Cheddar Man’s descendant through an unbroken maternal line. This genetic link garnered global media attention, emphasizing the remarkable continuity of population in the Cheddar Gorge area over millennia. The physical resemblance between Cheddar Man and Targett added to the intrigue, with Targett noting similarities in facial features and even eye color. Detailed genetic analysis in 2018 further challenged assumptions about early Britons, revealing Cheddar Man likely had dark skin, curly hair, and blue eyes.
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Post by bbkeef on Jul 8, 2024 12:52:59 GMT
Whoa! Very interesting!
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Why
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,173
Jun 26, 2014 4:03:09 GMT
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Post by Why on Jul 8, 2024 13:36:03 GMT
How cool. I love stuff like this.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,941
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Jul 8, 2024 17:28:52 GMT
the familial resemblance is eerie!
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Post by Lexica on Jul 8, 2024 18:06:47 GMT
Whoa! An amazing 300 generations later and a relative lives 1/2 a mile from where Cheddar man was discovered. I also love the fact that the relative is a history teacher. How very fitting. Can you imagine how the teacher must have felt when told about the connection? I mean, surely he was aware of the Cheddar man’s existence since he was found in this man’s community. And I would think as a history teacher he probably was quite interested in the discovery. Then being informed that he was a living relative had to have blown his mind.
How do they determine eye, hair, and skin color on such an old skeleton? Does studying someone’s DNA give them that information? This is all so very fascinating. I’m also curious about how someone decided to see if there were any living relatives still in the country. I really enjoyed this! Thank you for posting the story.
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Post by Zee on Jul 8, 2024 18:09:20 GMT
I would not have expected him to be so dark-skinned even for 10,000 years ago. That's interesting, I wonder when mutations would have made fair skin the default for Europeans? I would have thought that started much longer ago, especially considering he had blue eyes. Fascinating!
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Post by melanell on Jul 8, 2024 18:19:34 GMT
Whoa! An amazing 300 generations later and a relative lives 1/2 a mile from where Cheddar man was discovered. I also love the fact that the relative is a history teacher. How very fitting. Can you imagine how the teacher must have felt when told about the connection? I mean, surely he was aware of the Cheddar man’s existence since he was found in this man’s community. And I would think as a history teacher he probably was quite interested in the discovery. Then being informed that he was a living relative had to have blown his mind. I agree, and I think that makes this story all the better to me. It's so nice to read interesting and positive stories. Thanks RedSquirrelUK!
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