Look at your own skin. Why is it that exact color? And why does human skin range from deep brown to pale pink?
The answer isn't luck, and it isn't about race. It's a story of sunlight, vitamins, and a journey that took hundreds of thousands of years. Near the end, you'll also see a surprising fact about European ancestors that most people get wrong.
In this video you'll learn:
• What melanin is and how your skin makes it
• Why our earliest ancestors likely had dark skin
• How sunlight, folate and vitamin D shaped skin color
• What Cheddar Man's DNA revealed about ancient Britain
• How migration and farming changed the story
• Why similar skin colors evolved in different parts of the world (convergent evolution)
• Why skin color is not a boundary between kinds of humans
If you enjoyed this, subscribe for more simple, hand-drawn explainers about human history and biology.
#skincolor #evolution #humanhistory #explainer
Look at your own skin. Why is it that exact color? And why does human skin range from deep brown to pale pink?
The answer isn't luck, and it isn't about race. It's a story of sunlight, vitamins, and a journey that took hundreds of thousands of years. Near the end, you'll also see a surprising fact about European ancestors that most people get wrong.
In this video you'll learn:
• What melanin is and how your skin makes it
• Why our earliest ancestors likely had dark skin
• How sunlight, folate and vitamin D shaped skin color
• What Cheddar Man's DNA revealed about ancient Britain
• How migration and farming changed the story
• Why similar skin colors evolved in different parts of the world (convergent evolution)
• Why skin color is not a boundary between kinds of humans
If you enjoyed this, subscribe for more simple, hand-drawn explainers about human history and biology.
#skincolor #evolution #humanhistory #explainer