We say that people can be black or white, but these two colors by no means exhaust the richness of the color shades of human skin. The color of a person’s skin mainly depends on where on the planet his ancestors lived.
Scientists have experimentally proven theories about how people developed different shades of skin color (but these are just theories for now). Skin color depends on a substance called melanin. The more melanin in our skin, the darker it is.
When a white-skinned person spends a lot of time in the sun, a lot of melanin is formed in his skin, in other words, he tans. Albinos, who lack melanin in their bodies, have pinkish skin and reddish eyes. This color is due to the translucency of blood vessels through the skin and colorless tissues of the eye. Albinos have completely white hair. The deposition of melanin in the skin is a protective reaction to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which can cause skin cancer. As a light shield, melanin absorbs ultraviolet rays and helps protect the skin from damage. The more melanin in the skin, the darker it is and the better protected from ultraviolet radiation. Knowing the importance of melanin in the skin, scientists have developed ideas about how differences in the amount of melanin deposited in the skin appeared among different human races and how these differences developed over millions of years.
The large amount of melanin in the skin protects it from ultraviolet radiation. Our distant ancestors were covered with a thin layer of wool, which protected their skin from the intense ultraviolet radiation of the hot African sun. Hundreds of thousands of years have passed. As humanity developed, people began to give birth to babies without hair on their bodies. Why? No one knows this. But gradually the light spotted skin of our ancestors turned out to be completely unprotected from the scorching rays of the sun.
Since dark skin provides better protection from the sun, those individuals that were born darker than their counterparts received an advantage in terms of survival. Since dark skin color was inherited and had the advantages of natural selection, over time the skin color of the inhabitants of Africa became dark. People spread all over the Earth. Those who found their way to the cold north found the climate there was by no means African. In Europe, for example, sunlight is much weaker, especially in winter. This climate also has its disadvantages. Too much UV rays are harmful, but too little is even worse. Ultraviolet rays are vital for us: under the influence of this radiation, vitamin D is produced in the skin, without which the formation of strong, durable bones is impossible in the body. The earliest humans may have had light mottled skin, similar to the skin of a chimpanzee underneath its fur. The dimmer light of the European sun contains much less ultraviolet rays than sunlight in Africa. The first problems probably arose among the dark-skinned aliens, whose skin blocked what little ultraviolet radiation remained in the rays of the northern sun. Some children developed rickets, in which the bones became soft and fragile, they were easily bent and broken. Therefore, in Europe, children born with a lighter skin tone received an advantage in terms of survival. And again, over time, people with white skin became more numerous than dark-skinned ones. In weak winter light, pale skin remains permeable to ultraviolet rays, the child receives enough of them, vitamin D is formed in his skin, and he does not develop rickets. But in bright light in summer, pale skin becomes tanned and transmits ultraviolet rays to a lesser extent. As man explored the spaces of our planet, skin color adapted to the climatic conditions in which people found themselves. The lightest skin is found in people who live under the pale skies of Scandinavia. In sunnier climates, skin color can range from golden to light brown. Africans and Australian Aborigines have the darkest skin. Recently, as people began to move more freely around the world and enter into mixed marriages, the clear division into races was broken, and now people with different skin colors live in any climate.
We say that people can be black or white, but these two colors by no means exhaust the richness of the color shades of human skin. The color of a person’s skin mainly depends on where on the planet his ancestors lived.
Scientists have experimentally confirmed theories about how people developed different shades of skin color (but so far these are only theories).
What determines skin color?
Skin color depends on a substance called melanin. The more melanin in our skin, the darker it is. When a white-skinned person spends a lot of time in the sun, a lot of melanin is formed in his skin, in other words, he tans. Albinos, who lack melanin in their bodies, have pinkish skin and reddish eyes. This color is due to the translucency of blood vessels through the skin and colorless tissues of the eye. Albinos have completely white hair.
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What is melanin needed for?
The deposition of melanin in the skin is a protective response to ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which can cause skin cancer. As a light shield, melanin absorbs ultraviolet rays and helps protect the skin from damage. The more melanin in the skin, the darker it is and the better protected from ultraviolet radiation. Knowing the importance of melanin in the skin, scientists have developed ideas about how differences in the amount of melanin deposited in the skin appeared among different human races and how these differences developed over millions of years.
Interesting fact: The large amount of melanin in the skin protects it from ultraviolet radiation.
How did people develop different shades of skin color?
Our distant ancestors were covered with a thin layer of wool, which protected their skin from the intense ultraviolet radiation of the hot African sun. Hundreds of thousands of years have passed. As humanity developed, people began to give birth to babies without hair on their bodies. Why? No one knows this. But gradually the light spotted skin of our ancestors turned out to be completely unprotected from the scorching rays of the sun.
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Since dark skin provides better protection from the sun, those individuals that were born darker than their counterparts received an advantage in terms of survival. Since dark skin color was inherited and had the advantages of natural selection, over time the skin color of the inhabitants of Africa became dark. People spread all over the Earth. Those who found their way to the cold north found the climate there was by no means African. In Europe, for example, sunlight is much weaker, especially in winter. This climate also has its disadvantages.
Too much UV rays are harmful, but too little is even worse. Ultraviolet rays are vital for us: under the influence of this radiation, vitamin D is produced in the skin, without which the formation of strong, durable bones is impossible in the body.
Interesting: the earliest humans may have had light, mottled skin similar to that of a chimpanzee underneath its fur.
The dimmer light of the European sun contains much less ultraviolet rays than sunlight in Africa. The first problems probably arose among the dark-skinned aliens, whose skin blocked what little ultraviolet radiation remained in the rays of the northern sun. Some children developed rickets, in which the bones became soft and fragile, they were easily bent and broken.