The model makers’ skills and the genetic analysis produced a plausible representation of what Cheddar Man might have looked like.

But the specific contour of his face, the expression in his eyes, the precise shade of his skin — these are approximations at best.

The Mesolithic Diet: What Cheddar Man Ate

While the DNA analysis provided the headline-grabbing findings about appearance, the broader archaeological context of Mesolithic Britain gives us a richer picture of the world Cheddar Man inhabited and the food that sustained him.

The Mesolithic diet was varied, rich in animal protein, and entirely dependent on what the landscape could provide without cultivation or animal husbandry.