Would the descendants of white people living in a hot country eventually develop darker skin?

Question

If a community of caucasians were to move to an exceedingly hot country (say in africa) and mate exclusively within their community, would their offspring eventually develop darker skin or would they continue to produce children with white skin? Similarly, would a ******* (or Mongoloid or Kalahari bushmen) community living in the UK which didn't breed outside it's own community eventually find it's offspring would develop lighter skin? This question pertains to the longer term, say over a period of 10,000 years.

The fictional community does have access to all mod cons.

Answer 1

I think the answer to this depends on whether or not the persons involved had access to modern technology. If the people in this fictional community had some reason to die off quickly due to extreme sun burning and only those with darker skin survived then the answer would be yes. However if the people in this community had access to sunblock or some adaptive equipment to allow them to prosper then the answer is probably not.

Answer 2

It's not the temperture which coincides with darker skin but the amount of sunlight (particularly UV radiation) that a particular spot on the globe recieves.

Humans are adaptable and we now have clothing which most of us insist on wearing even in hot climates, and sunscreen. If a bunch of white Europeans were to move to some place which recieves a lot of sunlight, and run around naked all day without sunscreen, most of them would be severely sunburned. A fair skinned person can develope 3rd degree burns from the sun if they stay out long enough.

Some people will die from sunburns or related complications such as infection or down the line, skin cancer. But Europeans are a varied bunch and some will tan more than burn.

All that is required is that a person live long enough to procreate and ensure their offspring survives long enough to procreate so perhaps the ones who tan instead of burn will be more succesful at this for some reason or another and then yes, you'd see a tolerance for the sun passed on in the form of darkening skin.

That being said, it should be noted that many dark people in the world aren't really as dark as you think and have actually tanned significantly due to them spending a large percentage of time outside. For example, a Sri Lanken who appears almost black in skin tone could really be fairly pale without a tan.

And Israelis (most of the jewish ones) have not roamed the desert for centuries. Most of them have a mix of European and semitic genes with most of the genes being European. Some of their ancestors far back roamed the desert. Some of them live in Europe.

Answer 3

Theoretically, yes, assuming that enough people had the genes for darker skin, or their genes mutated to allow for it. Assuming that dark skin was an advantage in hot, sunny climates and light skin an advantage in cold, dark ones, then they would each be selected for in the environment that best suited them.

It may not be that simple, though. First, there's the fact that we aren't completely sure why people have different colors of skin. The hot/dark, cold/white dichotomy isn't 100%, so there may be other factors there. And then, if you're throwing in modern conveniences, you're completely changing the playing field. A society of down coats, UV imitating lights, sunblock, and doctors who can remove melanoma may not need to be concerned with skin color. After all, a pale, redheaded family can live quite happily in Bermuda nowadays, when, if they even have to go out in the sun, they can lather on the SPF 150 and put a hat on. Likewise, black people do just fine in Alaska.

Answer 4

I'm pretty sure it would take longer than that, but yes.

It is because melenin, which makes our skin dark, protects our cells (the DNA in the nucleus especially) from UV radiation. In a place with more UV radiation (as near the equator) you need more melenin to protect your DNA. According to evolution, the offspring with more melenin would be more protected while those with less would get cancer and die before they could reproduce (or have other damage to their cells which hinders this). Those with genes for more melenin would reproduce, then their children with more melenin would also outlive those with less and would reproduce and so on until the skin becomes darker.

The reverse of this can happen with a black community moving to a place with less UVrays, because you do need to recieve a certain amount of radiation to stay healthy. I think this would be slower though because it is less detrimental to have too much melenin.

Today it is unlikely that this would happen at the rate it seemed to in our past because we have better shelter, viatamins and access to things like sunscreen.

Answer 5

Actually, this has already been proven. When man's ancestors migrated out of Africa into the Mideast and eventually into Europe and Asia, they had to cope with climate and diet changes. Those who stayed in the Mideast and later into southern Asia wouldn't need to adapt as much as those who went into Europe and north of the Mideast area. The farther north they traveled and settled the more they would have to cope with colder climates, covering themselves with animal hides and living in caves or huts, therefore having less exposure to the sun. Naturally, their skin would not have to retain the darker shade as those who stayed farther to south. The proof is still there today,
Africans, Iranians, Indians, Indonesians and Aboriginees all retain darker skins on average than Germans, Scandinavians, Scotsman and European Russians. But I'm not sure if 10,000 years would be enough time for these adaptations or not.

Answer 6

Actually, no. Genes and DNA are what they are through those who are birthed. If a person, however has some Mediterranean in their blood or other culture, then yes you would eventually become of a darker shade, but not that of full-blooded African American. The same goes for the opposite. For instance, those who are born in America who have Italian grandparents might indeed have a Mediterranean appearance to their skin.

To answer your question as to 10,000 years, then yes. Humans adapt to their environment and therefore, all of humankind would essentially re-adjust to something else as to what they formally were. This is in part do to the ever-changing world over time. Different and various factors would eventually play a astounding role in the final evolution of man.

Answer 7

Since the theory is that Caucasians developed the lighter skin colour in the northern hemisphere due to lack of sunlight & the Negroids developed dark to exposure to sun....I think that if the theory you present...long term living in opposite extremes, yes.

Answer 8

It has to do along with your pores and skin's pigmentation, whilst your pores and skin is uncovered to the sunlight for long sessions of time it "tans" because of the fact the sunlight truthfully "burns" your skins pigmentation. and those that stay in "warm international locations" are frequently uncovered to the sunlight in the process the day longer than the human beings in "Cool international locations". the "warm international locations" have longer days than the "Cool international locations" because of the fact on the equator days are consistently 12 hours of sunlight & 12 hours of darkish, interior the northern and southern hemisphere ther is 8 - 12 hours of sunlight & 8 - 12 hours of darkish (the 4 seasons.) And to answere your 2d area of the question, confident it may make sense that darkish skined human beings could stay in "Cool international locations" on an identical time as easy skined human beings could stay in "warm international locations", yet evolution dose no longer artwork that way, human beings purely developed to what thier climates are.

Answer 9

You should research the history of India. This did actually happen. Caucassians migrated there many years ago and look at what happened. Not a white man in site.

Answer 10

Most likely, we are a product of our environment and our bodies have changed over time to adapt more easily to the areas we inhabit