Which evolutionary events have determined the colour of human skin, and why are there such distinctive........

Question

differences in skin colour?

Answer 1

Different groups of people have developed different levels of melanin in their skin. Largely as a result of where they live. Dark coloured people in Africa and South Asia have dark skin because they have evolved to live in places that have a large amount of sun light (close to the equator). The more melanin, the more protected your skin is (to a degree).

Other difference in colour are just a result of certain genes being passed down through generations, mixing of colours, and so forth.

Answer 2

I read somewhere that black skin does not tan (but can sunburn). Mediterranean skin tans immediately upon sun exposure. Scandinavian skin is so light that a tan develops much longer after exposure (although it reddens first from heat effect and later from sunburn). Healthy individuals (who pass on their genes?) should receive the right amount of Vitamin D from the sun and skin color helps regulate the exposure depending on such things as the length of day and the angle of the sun away from the equator.