New research has revealed that early Europeans had significantly darker skin tones than many people today. According to a study by experts at the University of Ferrara in Italy, light skin only became widespread across Europe around 1,700 years ago, during the time of the Roman Empire.
DNA evidence suggests that for the vast majority—approximately 96%—of Europe’s inhabited history, darker complexions were the norm.
A new map created by MailOnline, based on the study’s findings, illustrates how skin pigmentation varied across Europe between 45,000 and 1,700 years ago. The research shows that light skin first appeared in Sweden during the Mesolithic period (around 14,000 years ago) but remained rare for thousands of years.
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During the Copper and Bronze Ages (about 7,000 to 3,000 years ago), light skin tones gradually became more common, but darker skin types remained widespread, especially in regions like Italy, Spain, and Russia.
By the Iron Age (3,000 to 1,700 years ago), light skin was nearly as frequent as dark skin in Northern and Central Europe, but pigmentation patterns varied across different countries. For example, Denmark became predominantly light-skinned during the Copper Age, while Finland reached that point later, in the Iron Age.
To conduct the study, researchers analyzed the genomes of 348 ancient individuals who lived in Europe between 45,000 and 1,700 years ago.
They found that nearly all early Europeans in the Paleolithic era (45,000–13,000 years ago) had dark skin, with only one exception showing an intermediate tone. In Neolithic Britain (starting around 8000 BC), about 85% of people had dark skin, but by the Copper Age (around 3500 BC), there was an even 50/50 split between dark and light skin tones.
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The evolution of lighter skin in Europe is believed to have been driven by adaptation to lower ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels. As Homo sapiens migrated from Africa to regions with less sunlight, lighter skin became advantageous for absorbing more UV light, which aids in vitamin D production—essential for bone and muscle health. Conversely, darker skin offers better protection against UV-induced damage from excessive sunlight.
Genetic drift, migration, and the spread of Neolithic farming populations across Europe also contributed to changes in pigmentation. The study challenges previous assumptions by showing that light skin became dominant in Europe much later than previously thought.
The findings, published on the pre-print server bioRxiv, have yet to undergo peer review.
