Pre-Celtic British (Cheddar Man)

[T_aquaticus]

@beaglelady

I’m wondering what the far-right group “Britain First” thinks about Chedder Man. They’re probably pooping in their pants!

Reminds me of white supremacists sending in their DNA to determine their ancestry, and then getting back the predictable results.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/78275433-157.html

[bluebird (Robin)]

How would skin color have been determined from a corpse? Were remnants of skin still attached? That would be strange…Same question about eye color. Yes, a link that tells more would be good. Blue eyes and a very good tan??? And then the Celts came along and the Vikings…

[Edward (Edward Miller)]

I would say through DNA taking if there were something left to test.

[Lynn_Munter]

@bluebird

How would skin color have been determined from a corpse? Were remnants of skin still attached? That would be strange…Same question about eye color.

Yes, the article said iirc that they had “genes associated with” dark skin and blue eyes.

@Larry_Bunce

I saw no mention of this possibility on a quick search, but I don’t think anyone thought that the earliest europeans might not have been white.

I read at least one fictional series from decades ago which portrayed the Neanderthals as light-skinned while modern humans were all dark-skinned, not having lived in northern climates for as long. Hard to argue with.

[Jon_Garvey]

I’m not sure it’s a new finding - I’ve read a few pages saying that white skin came to Europe via the Neolithic settlers from Anatolia.

[bluebird (Robin)]

Thanks Lynn…Yes, you are right to point out the word “genome” so they made some determination based on genetic readings. Still…maybe the change came when Cheddar Man met Parmesan Woman ??? Their offspring were maybe Cream Cheese Man and Stilton Woman? I wait to hear more on this subject. Time will tell…Interesting though

[Edward (Edward Miller)]

You really are a fine scholar, brother Jon.

[Edward (Edward Miller)]

@bluebird,

Hello Rockin’ Robin. You have a good sense of humor too. Oh, in case you don’t know, Rockin’ Robin was a song in the early 1960’s.

[jpm (Phil McCurdy)]

Reminds me of The Clan of the Cave Bear series, fun books, though a bit graphic in the sharing of genes as I recall. Don’t think they spoke of pigmentation, however.

[beaglelady]

Yes, there was a black guy in one of the Cave Bear Novels. I loved the series, except for The Land of Painted Caves, which was BORING. Never even finished it!

[bluebird (Robin)]

Thanks Edward. I do know where Rockin’ Robin came from.

[Jon_Garvey]

If we’re serious for a moment, though I’m not familiar with the Cave Bear Novels, it sounds like someone wanted to say "Hey, don’t forget there were Afro-American cavemen back then too…

The great thing about the Cheddar Man story is that it shows all those ctaegories to be ephemeral. Cheddar Man is dark skinned, blue-eyed, wavy-haired, has a rather European nose - and generally confounds all the modern categories.

For interest, it confirms the point Steve Olson was making in 2002 Mapping Human History, the book that indirectly led to the Genealogical Adam Hypothesis of David Opderbeck and, now, Joshua Swamidass. (And me in between).

[Lynn_Munter]

@jpm

Reminds me of The Clan of the Cave Bear series, fun books, though a bit graphic in the sharing of genes as I recall. Don’t think they spoke of pigmentation, however.

Yeah, I read those (to my mother’s extreme dismay) but I’m thinking of a different series, more YA, but the same kind of historical fiction. Authors like that really do their research!