我們的祖先可能與我們完全不同

The first modern Briton had “dark to black” skin, groundbreaking new analysis of his 10,000-year-old remains has revealed.

研究人員對一萬年前的英國人的遺骸進(jìn)行了全新的研究。分析結(jié)果顯示，第一位近代英國人擁有“接近黑色的深色”皮膚。

Britain's oldest complete skeleton, known as Cheddar Man, was unearthed more than a century ago in Gough's Cave in Somerset.

英國最古老的完整骨架是100多年前在薩默賽特郡戈夫島的洞穴中被發(fā)掘的，他又被稱為切達(dá)人。

But an unprecedented examination of his DNA, along with a facial reconstruction of the fossil, shows the young man would have had a darker complexion than previously thought, along with blue eyes and dark, curly hair.

不過，研究人員對他的DNA進(jìn)行了首次檢測，同時對他的面部進(jìn)行了復(fù)原，結(jié)果顯示，這名年輕男子的膚色比此前預(yù)計的要深，而且他還有藍(lán)色的眼睛和深色的卷發(fā)。

Previous reconstructions of Cheddar Man, which were not based on DNA data, depicted him with a lighter skin tone.

先前對切達(dá)人的復(fù)原并非基于DNA數(shù)據(jù)，當(dāng)時的復(fù)原把他描繪成淺膚色的人種。

Yet research by evolution and DNA specialists suggests the pigmentation associated with northern European ancestry is a more recent development.

然而，進(jìn)化和DNA專家的研究指出，與北歐祖先相關(guān)的色素沉著是近期才逐漸形成的。

The research and remodelling process was documented for Channel 4 programme The First Brit: Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man.

這項研究和重塑的過程將在第四頻道《第一個英國人：一萬年前的秘密》節(jié)目中作記述性報道。

Researchers Professor Ian Barnes and Dr Selina Brace extracted DNA data from bone powder by drilling a 2mm hole through the skull's inner ear bone.

研究員伊恩·巴爾內(nèi)斯教授和賽琳娜·布雷斯博士在顱骨的內(nèi)耳骨上鉆了一個2毫米的小孔，收集到一些骨粉，然后從中提取了DNA數(shù)據(jù)。

They scanned the skull and a 3D model was produced by “paleo artists” Alfons and Adrie Kennis.

他們掃描了這塊顱骨，然后由“史前藝術(shù)家”阿爾方斯·肯尼斯和阿德里·肯尼斯為其制作了3D模型。

The twins, who have created reconstructions for museums around the world, spent three months working on Cheddar Man.

這對雙胞胎為世界各地的博物館制作復(fù)原模型，他們用了三個月的時間制作了切達(dá)人的模型。

Cheddar Man, thought to have died in his twenties and have had a relatively good diet, lived in Britain when it was almost completely depopulated about 300 generations ago.

據(jù)悉，這名切達(dá)人死于二十多歲，他有著相對良好的飲食，生活在300代人之前的英國，當(dāng)時的人口幾乎全部滅絕。

Although previous populations had settled in Britain long before his arrival, they were wiped out before him and he marked the start of continuous habitation on the island.

雖然在切達(dá)人到來之前就有人定居在英國，但在他之前那些人就滅絕了，切達(dá)人的到來標(biāo)志著該島嶼開始迎來持續(xù)居住人口。

Genetically, he belonged to a group of people known as the “Western Hunter-Gatherers”, Mesolithic-era individuals from Spain, Hungary and Luxembourg.

從遺傳學(xué)的角度講，切達(dá)人屬于中石器時代來自西班牙、匈牙利和盧森堡的“西方游獵采集部族”。

His ancestors migrated to Europe from the Middle East after the Ice Age. Britain has been inhabited ever since and today about 10 per cent of White British people are descended from the group.

他的祖先在冰河時代之后從中東移居至歐洲，自那以后就在英國定居下來。如今約10%的英國白人是該群體的后裔。

Alfons said: “People define themselves by which country they’re from, and they assume that their ancestors were just like them. And then suddenly new research shows that we used to be a totally different people with a different genetic makeup.

阿爾方斯表示：“人們通過所屬國家來定義自己，而且他們認(rèn)為自己的祖先就像他們一樣。而新研究突然表明，我們(的祖先)過去是完全不同的人，還擁有不同的基因組成。”

“People will be surprised, and maybe it will make immigrants feel a bit more involved in the story. And maybe it gets rid of the idea that you have to look a certain way to be from somewhere. We are all immigrants.”

“人們會感到驚訝，它也許會使移民有更多的參與感。而且這也許會使你擺脫必須以某種方式來確定自己來自何處的想法。因為我們都是移民。”