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Why did early Europeans have dark skin?
2024-12-12 20:11:02 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
7,000 years ago, Europeans had dark skin and blue eyes, a phenotype that no longer exists today. A research led by the Catalan biologist from the High Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) Karles Lalueza-Fox has reached this conclusion.
In 2012, this researcher analyzed part of the genome of two Mesolithic hunters found at the La Brana–Arintero site, in Valdelugueros (Leon). The samples made it possible to sequence 1 percent of the DNA of these individuals, and to determine that the current Iberian populations do not have genetic origins from these individuals.
The Mesolithic era ends with the arrival of agriculture and animal husbandry from the Middle East. The arrival of the Neolithic Age, with its carbohydrate-based diet and new domesticated pathogens, brought with it metabolic and immunological challenges that were reflected in the genetic adaptations of later populations.
Among them is the ability to digest lactose, a trait that the studied individual found in La Brana-Arintero did not possess. Almost 1 year later, in March 2013, chance prompted the team led by Lalueza-Fox to analyze the root of the third molar of one of the individuals, the one called La Brana 1, a very well-preserved specimen, and that allowed the decoding of the complete genome of the individual.
The results of these analyses, carried out in collaboration with the Danish Center for Geo-genetics and published in the journal "Nature", brought some surprises. The light skin pigmentation of today's Europeans is the result of changes in both genes, "a trait that until now was assumed to be very old and dating back to the Upper Paleolithic," explains the Catalan biologist.
However, Spanish researchers say that by studying the genes of this individual, it was discovered that he had African variants and that, therefore, his skin pigment was darker than that of Europeans today. "Furthermore, when we analyzed the color of the eyes , we found the mutation that gives people blue eyes" - he emphasized.
The findings of this study show that "despite the stereotype we have today, that people with a light skin color have blue eyes, the truth is that these two characteristics are marked by different genes, and that blue eyes preceded pigmentation easier for the skin of Europeans in the future, so something really amazing" - emphasizes the expert.
But appearance was not the only aspect analyzed by the Spanish and Danish researchers. They also analyzed the new type of nutrition, metabolic and immunological challenges.
The Mesolithic – the period that ended the Paleolithic 10,000 years ago – ended with the advent of agriculture and animal husbandry, which gave way to a new era: the Neolithic. With the new lifestyle, characterized by a sedentary lifestyle, men began to cultivate plants (thereby switching from a protein diet to a carbohydrate-based diet), domesticating animals and thus contracting diseases. viral infections, such as the flu or smallpox (acquired from them).
The site of La Brana-Arinteros was discovered by chance in 2006, and was excavated by archaeologist JulioManuel Vidal Ensinas. The cave, located in a cold and mountainous area, with a stable temperature and more than 1500 meters below sea level, was the reason for the "extraordinary" preservation of DNA in the remains of two people discovered inside it (called La Brana 1 and La Brana 2)./ Bota.al
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