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The skull of Cheddar Man Michael Stephens via PA Images

First Irish populations had dark skin similar to Cheddar Man, DNA research suggests

This week, UK scientists confirmed that the first modern Briton had dark skin and blue eyes.

IT’S LIKELY THAT the early Irish populations had dark skin, similar to the Cheddar Man discovery made in the UK this week, according to genetic experts.

This week, UK scientists confirmed that the first modern Briton had dark skin and blue eyes, following groundbreaking DNA analysis of the remains of a man who lived 10,000 years ago.

Known as Cheddar Man, after the area in southwest England where his skeleton was discovered in a cave in 1903, the ancient made had been brought to life through the first ever full DNA analysis of his remains.

The findings of the joint project between Britain’s Natural History Museum and University College London transformed the way people had previously seen Cheddar Man, who had been portrayed as having brown eyes and light skin in an earlier model.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Morning Ireland, professor of population genetics at Trinity College Dublin, Dan Bradley said that a project with the National Museum of Ireland has made similar findings for that of the earliest Irish populations.

The researchers working on the Irish project have compiled data from two individuals from over 6,000 years ago that provide similar results as Cheddar Man.

“The earliest Irish would have been the same as Cheddar Man and would have had darker skin than we have today,” Bradley said.

He said their findings suggest the DNA is linked to individuals from Spain and Luxembourg, people who populated western European after the last Ice Age but before the farming era.

Similarly, Cheddar Man’s tribe migrated to Britain at the end of the last Ice Age and his DNA has been linked to individuals discovered in modern-day Spain, Hungary and Luxembourg.

“We think [the Irish examples] would be similar. The current, very light skin we have in Ireland now is at the endpoint of thousands of years of surviving in a climate where there’s very little sun,” Bradley said.

“It’s an adaptation to the need to synthesise vitamin D in skin. It has taken thousands of years for it to become like it is today.”

Bradley’s research suggests that there were about 30-40,000 people on the island of Ireland at the time that the dark skin genomes date back to.

“They came here very probably by boat. They ate a lot of fish, hunted wild boar, gathered plants and nuts,” he said.

Bradley said that the team of scientists at Trinity College Dublin hope to have their research fully completed within the year.

Cheddar Man recreation

A bust of Cheddar Man, complete with shoulder-length dark hair and short facial hair, has been created using 3D printing.

It took close to three months to build the model, with its makers using a high-tech scanner which had been designed for the International Space Station.

Alfons Kennis, who made the bust with his brother Adrie, said the DNA findings were “revolutionary”.

“It’s a story all about migrations throughout history,” he told Channel 4 in a documentary to be aired on 18 February.

It maybe gets rid of the idea that you have to look a certain way to be from somewhere. We are all immigrants.
With reporting by AFP. 

Read: No-deal Brexit would cripple UK finances to tune of €91 BILLION – leaked report

More: This Waterford woman’s diary shows us what life was like in Ireland 100 years ago

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    Mute CAPITAINE ADEBAYO
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    Feb 11th 2014, 11:02 AM

    Thanks google. Thanks for starting a world where people walk around recording each other. I will never wear these.

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    Mute Jeremy Usbourne
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    Feb 11th 2014, 10:54 AM

    Should read.

    “Silly Virgin Atlantic press release, amounts to vast amounts of free advertising”

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    Mute Heather Knowles
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    Feb 11th 2014, 11:21 AM

    Minority Report meets Skynet

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    Mute Tom Keating
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    Feb 11th 2014, 12:32 PM

    Time for infrared necklaces for everyone so you can protect your identity.

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    Mute Barry Doyle
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    Feb 11th 2014, 11:30 AM

    Welcome to the world of tomorrow

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    Mute Dylan McDonald
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    Feb 11th 2014, 1:04 PM

    I’m a tech geek at heart and this technology is really cool BUT people have to be realistic and open there eyes, this is potentially one of the worst things to ever hit the self’s, privacy as we know it will be gone and our kids will never no what it is! Once its gone it will never come back, Scott Barry style

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    Mute bopter
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    Feb 12th 2014, 12:19 AM

    Fyi tech geeks tend to have good grammar and spelling.

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    Mute bandido
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    Feb 11th 2014, 2:19 PM

    The thing I’m dreading most about this technology is women walking down the street behind me checking out my sweet little ass.
    It gives them the capability to perv on me when I’m not even around!

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    Mute Butter bean
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    Feb 11th 2014, 11:49 AM

    Yeah because you can’t walk around recording people on you phone this last ten years.
    Good one Adebayo.

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    Mute Heather Knowles
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    Feb 11th 2014, 3:36 PM

    Big difference in phone recording and these glasses. A few examples, your on a beach with your toddler and some stranger starts pointing a phone at your child filming them. If your a vigilant parent your going to notice this and one way or another put a stop to it and make other people aware of a potential pervert in your midst. Beach full of people lots wearing glasses any sicko can now do this unnoticed. Burgler scoping out your house standing with phone risk of being seen. Burgler walking slowly along with glasses on no problem. Taking cash out at an ATM using card in shop etc person with glasses good chance they can zoom in on your pin. Seriously dangerous piecof technology in the wrong hands and that’s aside from everyday invasions of privacy.

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    Mute CAPITAINE ADEBAYO
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    Feb 11th 2014, 3:44 PM

    Soz, only seeing this now as you didn’t hit reply. Walking around with a phone outstretched pointing in someones face since 2004 isnt something I have seen too much of, in day to day life, like transactions at a till etc but hey maybe I haven’t been paying attention.

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    Mute Pádraig Reardon
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    Feb 11th 2014, 5:20 PM

    PIN numbers are so last year love! We have fingerprint scanners here in Brazil now no need for a PIN number so don’t be worrying!

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    Mute Pádraig Reardon
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    Feb 11th 2014, 5:21 PM

    *On all ATM machines

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    Mute Mary Kavanagh
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    Feb 11th 2014, 12:44 PM

    I foresee (sorry!) terrible eye problems down the line if these become the norm.

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    Mute Julian King
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    Feb 11th 2014, 12:27 PM

    I remember these from ‘Beyond 2000′!

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    Mute Ben Gunn
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    Feb 11th 2014, 11:56 AM

    Welcome to the future. Bare in mind that the airlines have been the test bed for realtime transactions and date analysis since the 1960′s.

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    Mute seamus mcdermott
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    Feb 12th 2014, 10:26 AM

    I like Virgin Atlantic. I flew here via London from SFO. Treated like a human being. Wonderful staff. Comfortable seats (and I’m 6’4″, 210lbs). The other airlines should pay attention to VA. They know how to treat people.
    The glasses? Couldn’t care less. The terminal is plastered with cameras anyway.

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