News Sport More Search

Sections

Hunter-gatherer European had blue eyes and dark skin

By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC World Service

27 January 2014 Science & Environment

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 The team was surprised by the hunter gatherer's unusual colouring

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Scientists have shed light on what ancient Europeans looked like.

Genetic tests reveal that a hunter-gatherer who lived 7,000 years ago had the unusual
combination of dark skin and hair and blue eyes.

It has surprised scientists, who thought that the early inhabitants of Europe were fair.

The research, led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Barcelona, Spain, is published in
the journal Nature.

The lead author, Dr Carles Lalueza-Fox, said: "One explanation is that the lighter skin colour
evolved much later than was previously assumed."

Scandinavian links

Two hunter-gatherer skeletons were discovered in a cave in the mountains of north-west Spain
in 2006.

The cool, dark conditions meant the remains (called La Brana 1 and 2) were remarkably well
preserved. Scientists were able to extract DNA from a tooth of one of the ancient men and
sequence his genome.

The team found that the early European was most closely genetically related to people in
Sweden and Finland.

But while his eyes were blue, his genes reveal that his hair was black or brown and his skin was
dark.

"This was a result that was unexpected," said Dr Lalueza-Fox.

Scientists had thought the first Europeans became fair soon after they left Africa and moved to
open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Scientists had thought the first Europeans became fair soon after they left Africa and moved to
the continent about 45,000 years ago.

"It has been assumed that it is something that happens in response to going from Africa to
higher latitudes where the UV radiation is very low and you need to synthesise vitamin D in your
skin. Your skin becomes lighter quite soon," explained Dr Lalueza-Fox.

"It is obvious that this is not the case, because this guy has been in Europe for 40,000 years and
he still has dark skin."

The bones of the 7,000-year-old man were discovered in a cave in Spain

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 The hunter-gatherer's genome also gave the team an insight into how humans had changed as
they moved from foraging to farming.

The early European would have subsisted on a diet of mainly protein, and his DNA reveals that
he was lactose-intolerant and unable to digest starch. The ability to ingest dairy projects and
starchy foods came after agriculture was adopted and people changed what they ate.

Commenting on the research, David Reich, from

Harvard Medical School in the US, said: "The
significance of this paper is that it reports the oldest
European genome sequence reported to date - the It will be very interesting to see
first European genome sequence that predates the how general this result is across
appearance of agriculture. ancient pre-agricultural Europe
David Reich, Harvard Medical School
"The dark skin is a very interesting finding, as light
skin is nearly universal across Europe today. These
results suggest that the light skin seen across Europe
today is a development of the last at least 7,000 years."

He added: "It will be very interesting to see how general this result is across ancient pre-
agricultural Europe once additional genome sequences become available."

Early results of research that Prof Reich has been involved with were recently published on the
biology preprint website bioRxiv.org and a paper has been submitted to a journal.

He has looked at the genomes of several hunter-gatherers and early farmers in Europe. This
work suggests that present-day Europeans derive from three ancient populations of early
inhabitants of the continent.

Follow Rebecca on Twitter

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Share this story About sharing
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Linkedin
Email

More on this story

Ancient DNA from Siberian boy links Europe and America

20 November 2013

European origins laid bare by DNA

10 October 2013

Making of Europe unlocked by DNA

23 April 2013

Mystery early human revealed by DNA data

18 December 2013

Farming 'spread by migrant wave'

27 April 2012

Neanderthals could speak like modern humans, study suggests

20 December 2013

Ancient humans, dubbed 'Denisovans', interbred with us

22 December 2010

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Related Internet links
Nature: Derived immune and ancestral pigmentation alleles in a 7,000-year-old
Mesolithic European

bioRxiv: Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for

present-day Europeans -
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites

More Science & Environment stories

More Videos from the BBC

More storms for India

Upper vortex circles UK
Severe storms threaten India

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Deadly storms batter New Caught on camera - one Can you trust your
South Wales lucky escape thermometer?
Recommended by Outbrain

Elsewhere on BBC
Man admits kidnapping and killing Work habits that make people hate
Calais schoolgirl you
BBC News BBC Capital

Italy seeks EU help on migrant Sacred spaces: Nine heavenly

crossings new religious buildings
BBC News BBC Culture

Girl, 12, raped walking along a pathway Having a baby in your 40s or later?
in Bristol Consider this
BBC News BBC Capital

Recommended by Outbrain Top Stories

Italy 'at war' with migrant smugglers
Italy says it is "at war" with people traffickers,
and has urged the EU to take robust action to stop more people dying in the Mediterranean.
22 April 2015
open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Russia 'ramping up Ukraine presence'
22 April 2015

Health blogger admits faking cancer

22 April 2015

Features & Analysis

Unsung heroes
The Indigenous Australians who broke the law when they went to war

Police state?
The force accused of hating black people

Exercising equality
The story of the sports bra

Bentleys for bombers

Why did a Saudi prince's offer attract outrage on social media?

In pictures
Nasa releases pictures of Earth's beauty

Laddish leaders
Does being a 'normal bloke' win votes?
Marvel avenged
From financial ruin to the biggest film franchise in history

The Documentary
How the fridge has transformed lives, exploring themes of wealth, diet, education, environment
open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Elsewhere on the BBC
Earth quiz
Can you guess what weird and wonderful things are in these 15 photos?

From Around the Web

The Black Card That's How These Two 11-Year-
Changing the Face of NYC Olds Beat Ivy League MBAs
Manhattan Digest In An Investing Contest
Pando Daily

Retirement Planning: Here's The Ten Worst Body

What Your 401K Is Really Language Mistakes to Avoid
Worth Forbes
Smart Asset

Here's How Amtrak Is Going This Is Where You Should

to Improve Train Travel in Retire in the United States
the Northeast Before it Gets Popular
Amtrak Destination Tips
Promoted content by Outbrain

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 Ads by Google

Europe Multi-City Trips

Customize & Book Multi-City Europe Vacations 100%
Flexible. Book Today
europeandestinations.com

How To Tighten Face Skin

Products That Help Tighten Loose Face Skin, Without Plastic
Surgery
antiagingcentral.co/Face_Lifting

Silva Mind Control

Download The Famous Silva Mind Centering Exercise. For
Free.
www.silvalifesystem.com

Sections

Home

Video

World

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 US & Canada

UK

Business

Tech

Science

Magazine

Entertainment & Arts

Health

In Pictures

Also in the News

Special Reports

Explainers

The Reporters

Have Your Say

BBC News Services

open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
 On your mobile

On your connected TV

Get news alerts

Contact BBC News

Explore the BBC

News Sport Weather Shop

Earth Travel Capital Culture

Autos Future TV Radio

CBBC CBeebies WW1 Food

History Learning Music Science

Nature Local Full A-Z

Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Cookies

Accessibility Help Parental Guidance Contact the BBC

Copyright © 2015 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our
approach to external linking.
open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com
open in browser PRO version Are you a developer? Try out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com