At a Glance
- Lighter skin, eye, and hair colors in Europeans evolved gradually and non-linearly over 45,000 years, challenging previous assumptions of rapid change.
- Using “probabilistic genotype likelihood,” researchers analyzed 348 ancient Eurasian genomes, including high-quality samples from a 45,000-year-old Russian and a 9,000-year-old Swede.
- Most Paleolithic Europeans had dark skin, while lighter eye colors became more frequent during the Mesolithic, especially in Northern and Western Europe.
- The spread of farming during the Neolithic increased the prevalence of lighter skin, though dark pigmentation persisted in Southern and Eastern Europe.
- Migration and gene flow, rather than simple natural selection, primarily shaped pigmentation traits, with light skin becoming common much later than previously believed.
Researchers from the University of Ferrara in Italy have examined how skin, eye, and hair color evolved in European populations over the past 45,000 years. Their study, which uses ancient DNA to infer pigmentation traits, reveals that lighter pigmentation evolved gradually and in a non-linear pattern. The research, available as a preprint on bioRxiv at the time of writing, challenges previous assumptions, showing that dark skin was still common in many populations well into the Copper and Iron Ages.
The study used a method called “probabilistic genotype likelihood,” which helped analyze ancient DNA samples with low coverage. This technique allowed the team to study 348 ancient genomes from Eurasia, including high-coverage genomes from two ancient individuals: a 45,000-year-old man from Russia and a 9,000-year-old man from Sweden. Their findings suggest lighter pigmentation became more common as humans migrated from Africa to areas with lower ultraviolet (UV) radiation; the change was not as fast or straightforward as previously thought.
The results show that most people in the Paleolithic period (about 45,000 to 13,000 years ago) had dark skin, with only one exception exhibiting a lighter skin tone. During the Mesolithic period (14,000 to 4,000 years ago), lighter eye colors became more frequent, especially in Northern and Western Europe. However, lighter skin tones only began to appear in Europe during the Mesolithic in Sweden, and remained rare for a long time.
As farming spread across Europe during the Neolithic period (about 10,000 to 4,000 years ago), the frequency of lighter skin increased. However, dark pigmentation persisted, particularly in Southern and Eastern Europe. The study emphasizes that the spread of pigmentation traits was influenced more by migration and gene flow rather than a simple pattern of natural selection. This new research highlights the complexity of human evolution, suggesting that light skin did not become common in Europe until much later than previously believed.
References
- Perretti, S., Vizzari, M. T., Santos, P., Tassani, E., Benazzo, A., Ghirotto, S., & Barbujani, G. (2025). Inference of human pigmentation from ancient DNA by genotype likelihood. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.01.29.635495
- Jackson, J. & Phys.org. (2025, February 18). The evolving pigment palette of European skin, eyes and hair as seen through ancient DNA. Phys.Org; Phys.org. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-evolving-pigment-palette-european-skin.html
