DNA Of Ancient Human Spawns New Theory Of Why Europeans Became White The new genetic analysis was performed on DNA extracted from the tooth of a male skeleton, called La Brana 1, found in 2006 in a cave system in the Cantabrian Mountains of Spain. The findings from this analysis, published in the journal Nature, are surprising because it shows that the light skin of Europeans evolved much more recently than once thought. Researchers previously believed that early Europeans lost the dark skin pigmentation of their African ancestors some 40,000 years ago as they began moving north to regions with less sunlight. Lighter skin absorbs more ultraviolet rays, an important adaptation for making Vitamin D in sun-poor environments. Our body naturally produces Vitamin D when ultraviolet rays in sunshine strike the skin. Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium, to keep our bones healthy.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 13:22:27 +0000
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