So it’s no surprise that the ancient Britons—builders of Stonehenge—also had dark skin.
A new study by researchers at the University of Ferrara (Italy) has shown that most Europeans living 5,000 years ago likely had dark skin.
Previously, scientists speculated that early Britons, such as the “Cheddar Man,” who lived 10,000 years ago, had dark skin and blue eyes. However, over time, lighter skin tones became the dominant trait.
Now, researchers assert that this change occurred several centuries later than previously thought.
What Did the Scientists Discover?
The team analyzed data from 348 genomes of people who lived in Europe between 45,000 and 1,700 years ago. They found that the vast majority (92 percent) of those who lived during the late Paleolithic era, 35,000 to 13,000 years ago, had dark skin, while 8 percent had skin of intermediate tones. The researchers suggested that no one had pale skin during that time.
This remained the norm for thousands of years. DNA from Iron Age Britons, who lived 3,000 to 1,700 years ago, indicated that 55 percent had dark skin, while 27 percent had skin of intermediate tones. Only 18 percent had pale skin, as reported by the Independent.
As the researchers explained, there are about 26 genes associated with melanin production, which is responsible for dark skin, and two specific types—eumelanin and pheomelanin—determine skin, hair, and eye color.
Since skin and hair do not preserve in fossils, experts used the genetic code from human remains and compared it with data from modern Europeans to predict the skin, hair, and eye color of ancient people.
It is known that the ancestors of modern humans migrated from Africa to Europe and Asia around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. As people moved to regions with lower levels of ultraviolet radiation, lighter pigmentation became more common.
These individuals developed lighter skin, allowing them to absorb more ultraviolet radiation, which helps the body produce vitamin D, essential for bones and muscles.
In contrast, darker skin contains more brown and black pigments than lighter skin, providing better protection against ultraviolet radiation.
For decades, scientists have assumed that people quickly acquired lighter skin tones after migrating from Africa. However, the authors of the new study argue that this process occurred much more slowly, and that the Britons who built Stonehenge were likely to have had a tan complexion.
Evolutionary biologist Silvia Girotto, the lead author of the study, noted, “It would be reasonable to assume that the first settlers, who came from a warmer climate and engaged in hunting and gathering, predominantly had dark pigmentation. But what we least expected was the prolonged persistence of these phenotypes.”
According to the researchers, the situation changed over time, but very slowly. Only during the Iron Age did the number of people with light skin equal that of those with dark skin. Nevertheless, “for most of prehistory, the majority of Europeans had dark skin,” the scientists emphasized.