How did each species of the human race evolve into different colored skin?

Question

How did each human species evolve into different colored skins?

Answer 1

So much wrong in just two sentences, where to begin?

Look, all humans on the planet today (with a few exceptions playing professional sports) are genus homo and species sapiens. There are not even any separate subspecies. We're all homo sapiens sapiens (with those affore-mentioned exceptions who may be homo sapiens neanderthalis).

The color of the skin is a selected response to the levels of sunlight to which our ancient (pre-clothing) ancestors were exposed. In areas with intense sun (like Africa and SE Asia and Australia), those with pale skin tended to die of skin cancers and burning. In areas with less sunlight (Europe and northern Asia), having less melanin in one's skin was a positive benefit, since it permitted more effective absorption of vital nutrients like Vitamin D.

But despite those apparent differences, all humans on the planet are capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring. They are not separate species.

Feel smarter now? A tad more evolved?

Good.

Answer 2

In a community of dark people the light colored fellow was the freak and so they tended to be childless. And so is true for the opposite. So communities tended to the majority and so became distinct.

Answer 3

Our differences in skin tones is because of evolution. Ultimately the driving force of evolution is reproductive success and while there is a variance in every population the overall tone will drift to what is best suited for each environment over generations. As is seen across the globe, there is the general rule that people who live in equatorial regions are darkest and this blends until artic areas are reached where people are the whitest. Like I said, the reason why this was prehistorically was because of reproductive sucess. For instance at equatorial areas the harsh uv rays from the sun breakdown certain vitamins and chemicals that are active in the operations in the human body. As was pointed out earlier one of these is vitamin B, but the most important chemical that is broken down by sunlight as far as reproduction is concerned is folic acid. Folic acid is crucial to rapid cell development so if an extremely light skinned individuals are habituating in tropical regions the males will experience a reduction in their sperm count, and women would experience more miscarriages because Folic acid is extremely important for foetal development. Conversly, as was pointed out, dark people habituating in northern hemisphere localities will have a reduced absorption of vitamin d which is also important for foetal development and for general health which would cause a reproductive discrepancy that would cause this darker toned characteristic to have been selected against.

Another medical condition that is often pointed at in this discussion is cancer, but in fact cancer has very little effect on reproductive sucess because the majority of cancer ocurrs after reproduction, and as of such, would not effect reproductive success in the same way as the previous examples.

Now, earlier I mentioned "in prehistoric times", and that was on purpose. Our knowledge and technology has already deafeated these prehistoric influences on skin colour from having an effect on reproductive sucess in modern times. Light toned people living in tropical areas can simply take vitamin b/folic acid supplements as well as use sunscreen to block the intensity of uv in breaking down the chemicals/vitamins that are important for reproduction and dark toned people living in northern environments don't even particularily need to focus on taking supplements because even in the winter, when their vitamin d deficiency should be the worst, the contemporary supermarket is full of imported fresh produce and milk both of which allow an ample offset to any loss of vitamin d that may be experienced.

So into the future this selective pressure will no longer be an issue and if all populations mixed then we would just be a widely varied mix of colour everywhere around the globe that would be primarily brown in tone and there would be no reason for colour to be selected for in either direction so long as darker toned people continued to eat their produce and lighter toned people remembered to take their folic acid and wear sunscreen.

Answer 4

Strange thing, life.  First, there is really only one human race (proven by the fact that, no matter the color of one parent, mating with a partner of another color produces offspring!)

O.K., the Darwinists will say it is because some lived in hot places and some lived in cold places.

I say, do a HISTORY SEARCH with real history books (Not the false history books used in schools) and you will find black people who have lived in northern climes for more than 10,000 years and, lo! they are still black.  You will find white people who have lived in the Sahara for thousands of years, and Lo! they are still white.

What we are dealing with is DNA; black DNA produces black; white DNA produces white (or yellow/yellow, red/red, brown/brown).  While I certainly don't know why, in the beginning, I would surmise that it had to do with diet at some point. (Consider the eyefolds of Orientals; when they have an American-style diet, their offspring loose this eyefold.)

The current claim is that everyone "came out of Africa".  O.k., then everyone should be black.  Since that is obviously not the case, diet is the most likely cause (or do you believe in space aliens?)

When I went to school, they taught that blond-haired, blue-eyed came from the Northlands (Sweden, etc.)  But, there were blonds in Iran, Iraq and other near-east countries.  Consider Armenians.

Next:  Indians (natives of the Americas).  Some are black as black can be; some were white, almost albinos.  Red, black and whited Indians all lived in the same place.  (National Geographics).

Answer 5

I don't know, but I do knwo that someday we'll evolve and become orange, if not gray.

Answer 6

The most primative humans have lots of melanin in the skin as Africa ( where humans orginate from) has mor direct sunlight which of course can cause skin cancer, so the high levels of melanin helps prevent this.

In response to another comment about humans being in the jungle more.....ummmmm human orginanted in savannahs...basically open wide plains...so that one does not wash! Standing on 2 legs actually means you are cooler, despite the darker pigmentation attracting heat...also we can sweat to help cool down.

As humans moved out from Africa, this was probably done in several waves, they have changed gradually to suit the environment they are in.....remember tho skin colour in any plant or animal is an incredibly simple genetic change ( eg albinos occur in many animals).....humans that moved further north into europe found that having dark skin was a disadvantage in that they were not able to get enough vitamin D as well as some other things that I have forgotton at the moment, so those with paler skin would have surivived better.

I assume this is why Asian skin is darker than european skin to some degree, but less than african or aborigines who both have more melain...but agian both live in areas close to the equator where sunlight it much more intense.

Overtime as people settled in areas the skin colours would have changed slowly over time to what the "orignials" in a population have what they do today, as people who had paler skin in africa, particularly around the equator would have had much higher rates of skin cancer and died earlier before producing young perhaps, while those in areas further from the equator would have slowly had less and less melanin as those with more would have suffered from vitamin deficiencies and died or had health problems ( remember this is before drs and pharmaceuticals!!).

Now with the amount of moving occuring there is a lot more mixing of genes from different populations and skin colour in different areas is not due to the same reasons the did thousands of years ago.

Answer 7

Skin color is about pigment, people in Africa have a darker skin color because they need more protection from the sun, just like if you went to the beach everyday you would get a tan.  Caucasians lost the darker pigment because we moved to placers where there was not as much sun, therefore humans didn't need as much protection and eventually lost there darker skin substituting it with lighter skin.

Answer 8

It takes 20,000 years for skin to transform from black to white, during a migration into different climatic conditions...

Likewise it takes that long to change eye color as well, from brown to light-colored eyes...

Answer 9

It has to do with either Vitamin A or Vitamin E.  The sun produces a lot of it so if you are in a climate that is closer to the sun, you tend to have darker skin so you absorb less from the sun.  If you are in a climate that is further away from the sun you have lighter skin so you can absorb more of this vitamin from sunlight.  Also if you have a diet that includes a lot of seafood, your skin tends to be darker because seafood contains this vitamin.  Of course this takes a long time to do but it does happen, those best suited for their environment tend to survive longer and have more children to pass on their genes.

Answer 10

Skin pigmentation has a lot to do with location on the Earth.  Where the sun is the hottest and the brightest, skin tends to be darker as a way of protection.  Temperature also helps to explain the differing amounts of fat on the faces of people of different cultures: where the weather is colder, people tend to have more fat on their faces, as a means of trying to contain heat.

Answer 11

Humans evolved at around the same time all over the world. The reason that people evolved with different amounts of pigment in the skin is because of the type of environment they lived in whwn they evolved. One of the main reasons is temperature. White people like me evolved in fairly colder climates than say, Asians did, because Asia is a bit warmer than Europe, and was covered in Rain Forests when humans evolved there.

Answer 12

No one will agree, but God created people through out the world with different colors and very different features. The scientific theory really doesn't add up. For example, the theory that Africans are black as a protection from the sun. 1. They would have stayed In the Jungle most of the time. 2. Humans have the Intelligences to make clothes to protect them from the sun. 3. Dark or black skin pulls heat In and holds It. Which would be much more likely to cause sun strokes.

Answer 13

Evolution. Dark skin was an adaptation to extreme sunlight.

The fact that your ancestors moved to Chicago will only be reflected in your descendants thousands of years from now.

Answer 14

Is there more than one human species? Can you be mistaken?

Answer 15

If our skin color was pre-eminent in the make up of the elements before the genetic arrangement began to evolve where did the coloration come from?  The environmental realities of earth suffice to give an idea with which to work with.  We can deliberate and guess all we want.  Finally, maybe the universe created us differentially to offer alternative and objective reasoning in its process of self-perfection.