Natural History Museum & UCL unveil face of 'Cheddar Man' in C4 doc(Video Below)A brand new Channel 4 documentary, First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man, has followed pioneering research carried out by a crack-team of Natural History Museum Human Evolution and DNA specialists, University College London scientists and the world’s foremost prehistoric model makers, to reveal - with unprecedented accuracy - the striking and surprising face of ‘Cheddar Man’, Britain’s oldest nearly complete skeleton. In one of their most challenging human DNA projects to date - no British individual this old has ever had their genome sequenced – the Natural History Museum’s ancient DNA Prof Ian Barnes and his colleague Dr Selina Brace have carried out the first ever full DNA analysis of Cheddar Man. This is only possible because of spectacular breakthroughs in DNA sequencing. Their results will transform both the way we visualise our 10,000 year old ancestors and our understanding of how we relate to them. Revealing the Face of Cheddar Man Cheddar Man’s European & British profile - and Middle Eastern Origins Today, around 10% of White British ancestry can be linked to that population. The history of ‘Cheddar Man’ How the face was created To allow the model makers, Dutch identical twins, Adrie and Alfons Kennis to reconstruct Cheddar Man’s face using 3D printing, the Natural History Museum team also employed the use of a hi-tech scanner, originally designed for use on the International Space Station, to render his skull in full three-dimensional detail. The brothers have created scores of reconstructions for the world’s top museums and were able to flesh out the skull based on the 3D scans from the Natural History Museum to create facial features based on the results of the scientific research. Cannibals in Gough’s Cave The DNA profile of Cheddar Man has revealed that although they were found in the very same cave, he shares no direct ancestry with these earlier cannibals. Expert Quotes “I first studied ‘Cheddar Man’ more than 40 years ago, but could never have believed that we would one day have his whole genome – the oldest British one to date! 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.” Prof Ian Barnes, Research Leader in Ancient DNA at the Natural History Museum, led a team of Ancient DNA experts as they analysed the entire DNA of the fossil skeleton. He said: Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor Rob Coldstream says, ‘Channel 4 is delighted to have been able to follow the incredible research of this extraordinary project. It is very exciting to think that we will be able to share these results and enable the rest of the UK to see what the first ‘Brit’ really looked like.’ First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man will air on Channel 4 on Sunday 18th February. Online here. Ends Notes for editors The Natural History Museum exists to inspire a love of the natural world and unlock answers to the big issues facing humanity and the planet. More than five million people visit the sites in South Kensington and Tring every year, and the website receives over 500,000 unique visitors a month. It is a world-leading science research centre, and through its unique collection and unrivalled expertise it is tackling issues such as food security, eradicating diseases and managing resource scarcity. www.nhm.ac.uk (opens in a new window) Production Company – Plimsoll Productions Thanks to the generosity of the Longleat Estate, Cheddar Man’s skeleton is on display in the Human Evolution gallery at the Natural History Museum The Natural History Museum welcomes more than five million visitors a year and is a world-leading science research centre. Through its unique collection and unrivalled expertise it is tackling the biggest challenges facing the world today. It helps enable food security, eradicate disease and manage resource scarcity. It is studying the diversity of life and the delicate balance of ecosystems to ensure the survival of our planet. nhm.ac.uk (opens in a new window). Find out more about human evolution research at the Natural History Museum here. Watch a video about the first known Briton, below:
February 7, 2018 8:43am ET by Pressparty
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