The reconstructed face of the âCheddar Manâ (c. 7,000 BCE) compared to his living descendant, Adrian Targett  Â
The Cheddar Man is a Mesolithic skeleton that was recovered from Englandâs Cheddar Gorge in 1903. At around 9,000 years old, the Cheddar Man is the oldest complete skeleton ever discovered in the UK, and has long been hailed as the âfirst Briton.â DNA analysis on the Cheddar man from 2018 indicated that he was lactose intolerant, had light-colored eyes, dark brown or black hair, and had a dark to black skin tone. Although the discovery of the Cheddar Manâs dark skin tone was surprising for both scientists and the public alike, it corresponds with recent research suggesting that genes linked to lighter skin only began to spread about 8,500 years ago - approximately 32,000 years later than what was previously believed. Â
In addition to the development on his skin tone, the Cheddar Man surprised scientists in 1997 when DNA analysis revealed that he had a living descendant -Â a retired history teacher named Adrian Targett. Targett and the Cheddar man share the same mtDNA, which is passed down from mother to daughter. In other words, they share a common maternal ancestor. What is even more remarkable is that Targett lives in Cheddar, only a half mile away where his 9,000-year-old ancestor was discovered.
Targett was not invited to the initial reveal of his ancestorâs new facial reconstruction, but he has since seen it and has commented on the family resemblance. âI do feel a bit more multicultural now,â he once joked in an interview âAnd I can definitely see that there is a family resemblance. That nose is similar to mine. And we have both got those blue eyes.â
The development of the Cheddar Manâs skin tone has generated resistance, especially among far-right and white supremacist circles. Targett, however, is unbothered by it, stating that it is âmarvelous what scientists can reconstruct once they sequence the DNA.â When asked if he thought whether the findings affected the way people think about race, Targett responded: âYes, I do think itâs significant. Not many people in Cheddar mind it. But the lesson is that weâre all immigrants, whether youâve been in a place for 10 minutes or 9,000 years. Weâve all come from somewhere.â
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