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So then, you think Eskimos/ Inuits or Seminoles have the same skin complection as French and Germans? And Sioux Indians complections are two full shades lighter than Mexican Indians?
Vitamin D is important to health processes. The body produces it while being exposed to sunlight, and the only other way to get an appreciable amount naturally is too eat a lot of meat from polar dwelling animals, The closer you get the equator the more cloudless days you have so vitamin D can be produced easily while skin cancer becomes a greater concern so over time environmental factors influence the population into becoming darker skinned. Comversely, the farther you go towards the poles the more cloudy days you have and thus the need to maximize vitamin D production outweighs the risks of skin cancer and environmental factors influence the population into becoming lighter skinned.
That is the general feeling among scientists. Since most of mankind lives in the northern hemisphere for most of us it will appear that in any large country skin color will get darker as you go south.
You're on the right track but you got off track on one thing. Human beings originated in Africa and they began with dark skin, not the other way around. It was as humans left Africa and migrated farther and farther north that mutations came about to lighten their skin. But skin wasn't darkened from living near the equator, it was already brown.
The issue of skin cancer is a modern problem, and was not the problem of people who lived in equatorial climates - melanin protects the skin.
So then, you think Eskimos/ Inuits or Seminoles have the same skin complection as French and Germans? And Sioux Indians complections are two full shades lighter than Mexican Indians?
First part of your question, in the grand scheme of complexions, not much!
And I hasten to add, considering the amount of time that Inuits have to spend in the sun, I don't see the slightest difference.
As for northern Amerindians and their southern brethren, the evolutionary history of the two aren't that much different.
So what is your point, to deny that distances from the equator don't account for variations in skin color?
Here's one example: Germany's climate is generally the same throughout but darker hair and eyes are more prevelant in the south.
I would say Northern Germany has a slightly colder climate due to colder summers and snowy and gloomy winters. Northern Germany I would say is richer. The only really big city in Southern Germany is Munich.
The original population of southern Europe was darker skinned, prior to lighter-skinned Indo-Europeans invading from the north (into Greece, Italy, Gaul, etc.). There have also been several waves of invasions of or migrations into more southerly Europe by darker skinned peoples from the south or east, including the 1) Phoenicians/Carthaginians, 2) Huns, 3) Moors, 4) Mongols, 5) Gypsies, and 6) Turks, all of which left their genetic mark.
Is it just me, or races traditionally seen as darker, say Asian or Middle Eastern or even Hispanic, are actually quite white looking when they roll up the pant legs? These people aren't seen as "white" but their actual skin tone in generally clothed areas is pretty white. I think changes in sun exposure might shift the general human spectrum to be whiter than in previous times (except for this tanning solon garbage going on which seems to be getting less and less popular).
Why do so many countries have lighter north, darker south?
Quote:
Originally Posted by keymaker221
When it comes to features like hair and skin colour etc. it seems that many countries have people of lighter complexion being more common in the north and for the south it's the opposite(And the climate isn't much different so I doubt it could be that). This pattern goes through several continents even. Also in a lot of cases the north is more rich and advanced as well. I was just curious about this.
Short answer:
Sun exposure.
The earth is a sphere.
FYI
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Why do so many countries have lighter north, darker south?
