The contributions that technology and science make to archaeological finds are truly invaluable. Thanks to progress in both areas, today several key aspects of many outcomes can be established with greater accuracy done in the past.
One of the most significant cases in this field is perhaps that of a 9,000 year old male fossil, who shares the same DNA as a British professor. Okay, what’s surprising? The details around this impressive event are also!
England’s oldest skeleton is 9,000 years old
At the beginning of the last century, in 1903 Fossil remains have been found in the town of cheddar throatEngland. The discovery was made at a depth of 20 meters in Gough’s Cave (Gough’s Cave), one of the largest caves in the area – in total there are about 100 in the area – about 20 meters deep.
Initially, the discovery caught the attention of the region and the nation as a whole, but the effect of the news lasted a short time. Very quickly, the skeleton became another of the prehistoric relics that adorn museums and fill books.
In 1903, the remains of the prehistoric man named Cheddar Manen were discovered inside Gough’s Cave. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public domain.
Serious in 1914 when a report of this skeleton found in Cheddar Gorge. The studies carried out on different parts of the fossil included the analysis of certain bony parts, such as the teeth, the limb bones and the skull.
Also of the latter a measurement was made to compare it with other prehistoric fossil skulls, the results surprised the researchers. It was the skeleton of a relatively young man and was determined to belong to the era of late paleolithicdating back 9000 years.
Science and its new methods at the service of history
Reconstruction of the face of the Cheddar Man.
these fossil bones They have been christened by scholars as Cheddar Man or “Man of Cheddar”, in recognition of the locality where they were discovered. For a long time, it was not possible to move forward in the studies of the skeleton of 9,000 thousand years, due to the lack of technological and scientific resources.
Until finally the year 1997, full of scientific advances, gave new impetus to the study of the fossil remains discovered in 1903. This is how Cheddar Man once again became the protagonist thanks to these new techniques, in particular forensic, capable of recover DNA from these ancient bones.
The 9,000-year-old man was transferred to Oxford University, specifically the Institute of Molecular Medicine, to undergo forensic examination. These tests led to the discovery of DNA in the teeth of the cheddar man.
Cheddar Man has a family!
One of the most interesting aspects of this story is that the cheddar man still have at least one family member alive, although 9,000,000 years have already passed. How is it possible? After experts collected DNA from the human fossil, they compared it with that of 20 natural people from the locality.
A requirement for making the comparison is that it could determine that these people have lived for many generations in Cheddar Gorge. Incredibly, a direct relative of the 9,000-year-old man has been found. Yes, the Cheddar Man has a family.
Her name is Adrian Target, British professor who, along with other members of his family of around 46 members, refused to leave his land and preferred to continue living in the city of his ancestors. According to the test results, they would be related to the maternal line.
Adrian Targett, the British professor who shares the same DNA as Cheddar Man.
More human fossil remains belonging to the Paleolithic
While it is true that the remains of Cheddar Man are the largest found in the region of cheddar throat, it should be noted that they are not the only ones. According to experts, it is the main region of England where human remains can be found of the Upper Palaeolithic.
The basis of this statement is based on the underground discovery of several human skulls. Two of them correspond to adults, while the third could belong to an infant of about three years old.
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Additionally, parts of bones that turn out to have been the subject of “a kind of butchery”. A detail that reveals the practice of cannibalism by certain tribal groups of the time.
Knowing that there is a direct relative of a man who lived 9,000 years ago, makes us wonder, could it just be a coincidence? Are there other similar cases in the world? Are there more direct descendants of prehistoric individuals living today? This may not be the only case, there will surely be other situations like that of the Cheddar man thanks to the advantages that science brings.
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