Hunter-gatherer European had blue eyes and dark skin

[naveen mishra]

Scientists have shed light on what ancient Europeans looked like.

Genetic tests reveal that a hunter-gatherer who lived 7,000 years ago had the unusual combination of dark skin and hair and blue eyes.

It has surprised scientists, who thought that the early inhabitants of Europe were fair.

The research, led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, Spain, ispublished in the journal Nature.

The lead author, Dr Carles Lalueza-Fox, said: "One explanation is that the lighter skin colour evolved much later than was previously assumed."

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Two hunter-gatherer skeletons were discovered in a cave in the mountains of north-west Spain in 2006.

The cool, dark conditions meant the remains (called La Brana 1 and 2) were remarkably well preserved. Scientists were able to extract DNA from a tooth of one of the ancient men and sequence his genome.

The team found that the early European was most closely genetically related to people in Sweden and Finland.

But while his eyes were blue, his genes reveal that his hair was black or brown and his skin was dark.

"This was a result that was unexpected," said Dr Lalueza-Fox.

Scientists had thought the first Europeans became fair soon after they left Africa and moved to the continent about 45,000 years ago.

"It has been assumed that it is something that happens in response to going from Africa to higher latitudes where the UV radiation is very low and you need to synthesise vitamin D in your skin. Your skin becomes lighter quite soon," explained Dr Lalueza-Fox.

"It is obvious that this is not the case, because this guy has been in Europe for 40,000 years and he still has dark skin."

The bones of the 7,000-year-old man were discovered in a cave in Spain

The hunter-gatherer's genome also gave the team an insight into how humans had changed as they moved from foraging to farming.

The early European would have subsisted on a diet of mainly protein, and his DNA reveals that he was lactose-intolerant and unable to digest starch. These are traits that came after agriculture was adopted and people changed what they ate.

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It will be very interesting to see how general this result is across ancient pre-agricultural Europe”

David ReichHarvard Medical School
Commenting on the research, David Reich, from Harvard Medical School in the US, said: "The significance of this paper is that it reports the oldest European genome sequence reported to date - the first European genome sequence that predates the appearance of agriculture.

"The dark skin is a very interesting finding, as light skin is nearly universal across Europe today. These results suggest that the light skin seen across Europe today is a development of the last at least 7,000 years."

He added: "It will be very interesting to see how general this result is across ancient pre-agricultural Europe once additional genome sequences become available."

Early results of research that Prof Reich has been involved with were recently published on the biology preprint website bioRxiv.org and a paper has been submitted to a journal.

He has looked at the genomes of several hunter-gatherers and early farmers in Europe. This work suggests that present-day Europeans derive from three ancient populations of early inhabitants of the continent.
BBC News - Hunter-gatherer European had blue eyes and dark skin

 

[madooxno9]

I was always fascinated with this subject as a whole. Interesting development.

 

[Indischer]

I was always fascinated with this subject as a whole. Interesting development.

Good to know that someone shares my interest here!

 

[madooxno9]

Good to know that someone shares my interest here!

I do read a lot about early humans and their blood , DNA , how they turned bue eyed , blonde , etc . How humans and Neanderthals were . Its very very interesting subject .

 

[Indischer]

I do read a lot about early humans and their blood , DNA , how they turned bue eyed , blonde , etc . How humans and Neanderthals were . Its very very interesting subject .

But you too aren't a biologist, right? I wanted to learn about genetic sequencing and how to make sense out of different alleles and haplogroups.

Funny thing is, an uncle of mine had taken the NatGeo DNA test. Turns out he has 3% Neanderthal genes(all humans who set out of Africa have it is varying percentages).

 

[EyanKhan]

I do read a lot about early humans and their blood , DNA , how they turned bue eyed , blonde , etc . How humans and Neanderthals were . Its very very interesting subject .

I think alot of us are, if you come across anything interesting do share

 

[madooxno9]

But you too aren't a biologist, right? I wanted to learn about genetic sequencing and how to make sense out of different alleles and haplogroups.

Funny thing is, an uncle of mine had taken the NatGeo DNA test. Turns out he has 3% Neanderthal genes(all humans who set out of Africa have it is varying percentages).

Yeah , i am not biologist but have a peculiar interest in this subject. Yeah i read that and it was something that these people's gene are still there on planet and quite a number of them reside in australia , china and east asia. Presumably " Legacy gene " is also a case which has been a subject of debate. They say that cancer kind of disease are due to those Neanderthal gene.

I think alot of us are, if you come across anything interesting do share

Ok , as you have asked for it , after my exam i will collect all reading material and make a summary.

 

[Indischer]

Yeah , i am not biologist but have a peculiar interest in this subject. Yeah i read that and it was something that these people's gene are still there on planet and quite a number of them reside in australia , china and east asia. Presumably " Legacy gene " is also a case which has been a subject of debate. They say that cancer kind of disease are due to those Neanderthal gene.



Ok , as you have asked for it , after my exam i will collect all reading material and make a summary.

Except those Africans whose forefathers never ventured out of Africa, all other people are said to have Neanderthal blood.
The very first Humans who ventured out of Africa must have likely encountered them in Arabia or Asia Minor or Iranian highlands and,....you know what.

 

[madooxno9]

But you too aren't a biologist, right? I wanted to learn about genetic sequencing and how to make sense out of different alleles and haplogroups.

Funny thing is, an uncle of mine had taken the NatGeo DNA test. Turns out he has 3% Neanderthal genes(all humans who set out of Africa have it is varying percentages).

Sometimes i ponder , if i have taken a right path in my life I should have been in biology field , specially Gene related field

Now i don't remember but i read one day that according to our blood type we can tell if our first ancestor was a woman or a man and from which part of Africa we are

Except those Africans whose forefathers never ventured out of Africa, all other people are said to have Neanderthal blood.
The very first Humans who ventured out of Africa must have likely encountered them in Arabia or Asia Minor or Iranian highlands and,....you know what.

When i think about all this and then read somewhere about racism , in my mind i laugh so hard and then feel bad

 

[Indischer]

Sometimes i ponder , if i have taken a right path in my life I should have been in biology field , specially Gene related field

Now i don't remember but i read one day that according to our blood type we can tell if our first ancestor was a woman or a man and from which part of Africa we are

Haha, Join my Club. It's called the Misfits for obvious reasons. I too wish I could have aligned my career with my passions. they're in such contrasting fields that if I stick to one, I cannot do the other.

 

[madooxno9]

A very nice documentary

 

[Butchcassidy]

Did anyone get tested by 23andme? which Y haplogroup are you?

 

[FaujHistorian]

I do read a lot about early humans and their blood , DNA , how they turned bue eyed , blonde , etc . How humans and Neanderthals were . Its very very interesting subject .

Us humans are lot like dogs in one way.

Give us four individuals with unique color of skin and another color for their eyes.

We'll make sure these 4 will fork to death and make 60,000 combinations out of the original 4.

The rest as they is HIS-story and obviously HER-story

 

[Arya Desa]

I think alot of us are, if you come across anything interesting do share

My genetics professor said technically Neanderthals and Humans are the same species and should not be considered different, genetically speaking.

 

[Desertfalcon]

My genetics professor said technically Neanderthals and Humans are the same species and should not be considered different, genetically speaking.

I thought the prevailing theory was just the opposite, i.e., that DNA evidence suggest that for whatever reason, there was no cross-mating between Neanderthals and Cro-Mangons.