A recent study conducted by scientists at the University of Ferrara in Italy suggests that the majority of Europeans living 5,000 years ago, including those who built Stonehenge, may have had dark skin, dark eyes, and dark hair, as reported by the Daily Mail.
"By analysing ancient DNA from 348 individuals spanning 45,000 years, we reconstructed an intricate picture in which light pigmentation emerged sporadically during the first phases of our presence in Europe," said Dr. Silvia Ghirotto, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Ferrara who led the research, according to Express.co.uk. "Given that Stonehenge was built during the transition from Neolithic to Bronze Age, and given the high frequency of dark-skinned samples we inferred for that period even in northern Europe, it is likely that Britons who built Stonehenge displayed dark features," Ghirotto added.
The study indicates that the shift to lighter skin among Europeans was slower than previously thought, due to people's movement to higher latitudes and, in turn, higher vitamin D intake, as reported by the Independent. Experts are still unsure why the change from darker to lighter skin was so slow. Scientists believe that farmers may have compensated for vitamin D deficiencies in their diet with accessible sources such as milk and meat.
Scientists analyzed data from 348 genomes from human remains of individuals who lived between 45,000 and 1,700 years ago. As detailed by the Daily Mail, samples for the study were taken from the British Isles, mainland Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. The reconstruction shows that almost all Europeans had dark skin until around 3,000 years ago, with 92 percent of those living in Europe during the Paleolithic period having dark skin.
The study suggests that none of the individuals from the Paleolithic period had pale skin, and this remained the norm for thousands of years. According to the Independent, DNA from the Iron Age, between 1,700 and 3,000 years ago, still showed that 55 percent of people had dark skin. Just 18 percent of people in the Iron Age had pale skin, while 27 percent had intermediate skin tones.
"For decades, scientists assumed humans rapidly developed lighter skin tones after migrating from Africa," stated the Independent. However, this latest research suggests the change to lighter skin tones was far more gradual. "Things changed afterwards, but very slowly, so that only in the Iron Age did the frequency of light skins equal that of dark skins; during much of prehistory, most Europeans were dark-skinned," the study adds.
"Our ancestors had dark skin until very recent times," Ghirotto also stated.
As humans migrated into regions with lower ultraviolet (UV) radiation light, lighter pigmentation became more common. This adaptation helped their bodies to produce vitamin D, which is vital for maintaining healthy bones and muscle. "What was less expected was the long persistence of their phenotypes," the study notes.
Stonehenge, located just outside the town of Glastonbury, was constructed around 5,000 years ago. The monument is an iconic part of Britain's history. The whole Stonehenge monument, now ruinous, is aligned towards the sunrise and sunset on the winter solstice.
Visitors are able to walk around the Stonehenge monument from a short distance away, but the site is largely sealed off to the public, with visitors no longer being permitted to touch the stones. English Heritage permits access to Stonehenge during the summer and winter solstice, and the spring and autumn equinox. Large crowds can usually be seen at Stonehenge during the solstice periods as it is considered a place of worship to Neo-Druids, Pagans, and other 'earth-based' or 'old' religions.
The study has been published on the pre-print server bioRxiv, meaning it's yet to be peer-reviewed. There are about 26 genes associated with the production of melanin, which produces darker skin, according to the Independent.
Because skin and hair are not preserved in fossils, experts used the genetic code from human remains and compared it to data from modern Europeans to predict the skin, hair, and eye color of ancient people. Two specific types of melanin, eumelanin and pheomelanin, determine skin color, hair color, and eye color.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.