How Did Ancient Humans Get Blue Eyes
Basically Primitive
320,067 views
Look in the mirror—if you have blue eyes, you carry a 6,000-year-old genetic glitch from a single ancestor, and there’s zero blue pigment in them. Discover how a tiny DNA mutation in dark-skinned ancient hunters created a striking optical illusion, shattered human evolutionary history, and spread across the globe.
A QUICK NOTE: To be honest, I’m not a fan of AI, but since English isn’t my native language and for a few other reasons, I figured it’s still the best tool for the job. Thanks for sticking with me!
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📚 RESEARCH & SOURCES:
Eiberg, H., Troelsen, J., Nielsen, M., Mikkelsen, A., Mengel-From, J., Kjaer, K. W., & Hansen, L. (2008). Blue eye color in humans may be caused by a perfectly associated founder mutation in a regulatory element located within the HERC2 gene inhibiting OCA2 expression. Human Genetics, 123(2), 177–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-007-04...
Olalde, I., Allentoft, M. E., Sánchez-Quinto, F., Santpere, G., Chiang, C. W. K., DeGiorgio, M., ... & Lalueza-Fox, C. (2014). Derived immune and ancestral pigmentation alleles in a 7,000-year-old Mesolithic European. Nature, 507(7491), 225–228. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12960
Brace, S., Diekmann, Y., Booth, T. J., van Dorp, L.,"; Faltyskova, Z., Rohland, N., ... & Thomas, M. G. (2019). Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3(5), 765–771. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-08... (Cheddar Man genome analysis)
Sturm, R. A., & Larsson, M. (2009). Genetics of human iris colour and patterns. Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, 22(5), 544–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-148X.2...
Mathieson, I., Lazaridis, I., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Patterson, N., Roodenberg, S. A., ... & Reich, D. (2015). Genome-wide patterns of selection in 230 ancient Eurasians. Nature, 528(7583), 499–503. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16152
Lalueza-Fox, C., Römpler, H., Caramelli, D., Stäubert, C., Catalano, G., Hughes, D., ... & Hofreiter, M. (2007). A melanocortin 1 receptor allele suggests varying pigmentation among Neanderthals. Science, 318(5855), 1453–1455. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1147417
Frost, P. (2006). European hair and eye color: A case of frequency-dependent sexual selection? Evolution and Human Behavior, 27(2), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbeha...
Wilde, S., Timpson, A., Kirsanow, K., Kaiser, E., Kayser, M., Unterländer, M., ... & Burger, J. (2014). Direct evidence for positive selection of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation in Europeans during the last 5,000 years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(13), 4832–4837. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1316513111
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:hand-pink-waving:
How Did Ancient Humans Get Blue Eyes
Basically Primitive
320,067 views
Look in the mirror—if you have blue eyes, you carry a 6,000-year-old genetic glitch from a single ancestor, and there’s zero blue pigment in them. Discover how a tiny DNA mutation in dark-skinned ancient hunters created a striking optical illusion, shattered human evolutionary history, and spread across the globe.
A QUICK NOTE: To be honest, I’m not a fan of AI, but since English isn’t my native language and for a few other reasons, I figured it’s still the best tool for the job. Thanks for sticking with me!
————————————————————
📚 RESEARCH & SOURCES:
Eiberg, H., Troelsen, J., Nielsen, M., Mikkelsen, A., Mengel-From, J., Kjaer, K. W., & Hansen, L. (2008). Blue eye color in humans may be caused by a perfectly associated founder mutation in a regulatory element located within the HERC2 gene inhibiting OCA2 expression. Human Genetics, 123(2), 177–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-007-04...
Olalde, I., Allentoft, M. E., Sánchez-Quinto, F., Santpere, G., Chiang, C. W. K., DeGiorgio, M., ... & Lalueza-Fox, C. (2014). Derived immune and ancestral pigmentation alleles in a 7,000-year-old Mesolithic European. Nature, 507(7491), 225–228. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature12960
Brace, S., Diekmann, Y., Booth, T. J., van Dorp, L.,"; Faltyskova, Z., Rohland, N., ... & Thomas, M. G. (2019). Ancient genomes indicate population replacement in Early Neolithic Britain. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3(5), 765–771. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-08... (Cheddar Man genome analysis)
Sturm, R. A., & Larsson, M. (2009). Genetics of human iris colour and patterns. Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, 22(5), 544–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-148X.2...
Mathieson, I., Lazaridis, I., Rohland, N., Mallick, S., Patterson, N., Roodenberg, S. A., ... & Reich, D. (2015). Genome-wide patterns of selection in 230 ancient Eurasians. Nature, 528(7583), 499–503. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature16152
Lalueza-Fox, C., Römpler, H., Caramelli, D., Stäubert, C., Catalano, G., Hughes, D., ... & Hofreiter, M. (2007). A melanocortin 1 receptor allele suggests varying pigmentation among Neanderthals. Science, 318(5855), 1453–1455. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1147417
Frost, P. (2006). European hair and eye color: A case of frequency-dependent sexual selection? Evolution and Human Behavior, 27(2), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbeha...
Wilde, S., Timpson, A., Kirsanow, K., Kaiser, E., Kayser, M., Unterländer, M., ... & Burger, J. (2014). Direct evidence for positive selection of skin, hair, and eye pigmentation in Europeans during the last 5,000 years. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(13), 4832–4837. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1316513111
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