Recent research suggests that dark skin was the norm for most of Europe’s history, with lighter skin becoming more common only in the last 1,700 years. Experts from the University of Ferrara in Italy discovered that, until around this time, pale skin was relatively rare across the continent.
According to the Daily Mail, researchers studied DNA from 348 ancient individuals who lived across Europe over the last 45,000 years. Their findings reveal that almost all early Europeans had dark skin. Pale skin first appeared in Sweden during the Mesolithic period (around 14,000 years ago), but it stayed rare for thousands of years.
The shift to lighter skin tones was slow and uneven. During the Copper and Bronze Ages (roughly 7,000 to 3,000 years ago), light pigmentation gradually increased, but darker skin remained dominant in most areas.
By the Iron Age (3,000 to 1,700 years ago), light and dark skin became equally common in Northern and Central Europe. However, darker skin tones were still widespread in parts of Southern and Eastern Europe, including Italy, Spain, and Russia.
The data also showed how skin tones varied by region and time. In Neolithic Britain (around 8000 BC), 85% of people had dark skin. By the Bronze Age, there was a mix—some had light skin, others dark, and many had an in-between tone. In France, dark skin dominated early on, but by the Bronze Age, pale skin had become common.
Scientists believe this shift is linked to climate. As humans moved into areas with less sunlight, lighter skin helped them absorb more UV rays to produce vitamin D. In contrast, darker skin provided better protection against sun damage in high-UV regions.
SOURCE: blacknews.com