Poll: Black or white?

[tkioz]

huh I always figured we'd of started off more as the middle-eastern type, you know sort of brownish (so not being racist here, but it's 1am and I can't think of the right word), and when we spread out we changed to suit the environment.

 

[KnowYourOnion]

SNIP

A quick look on wikipedia tells me that you are indeed correct. Sorry I just took the your wording to mean something slightly different, my bad.

 

[Captain Pancake]

I don't have any knowledge on the matter, but I'm guessing it was black. But unless you're some kind of historical geneticist, who really cares?

 

[Poofs]

im gonna say white cuz theres more of em
i dont really know though
i have done 0 research

 

[Doug]

Now this topic which was plaguing my mind as I tried to drift into slumber-land the other night. I begun thinking that since its supposed that humans originate from Africa then the common idea would we would all be black, but black people are black because of skin pigments that are exposed to the sun and the ice age was caused by the meteor and caused enough smoke to block out the sun, but during that time humans came to be and since their may of been no sun the skin must of been white...

Now I know it doesn't matter but its the reason I didn't fall asleep till 5 in the morning and i'd like an answer! Also I know that its most likely some of my, if not all, my facts are wrong and if so correct me, but I just want to know who came first. The black man, or the white?

Given we evolved from hair covered creatures that had no need for skin pigment as their hair blocked the sun's rays, white skin probably came first, then black pigments evolved as the modern africans stayed behind - white remained in those who travelled north towards the cold areas of Europe, and tanned tones developed in the Asian's of various tones.

 

[Burningsok]

blacks, over time some of them decided to travel to different places and slowly through the decades and centuries their kids and their kids' kids started showing signs of skin color change.

 

[The Diabolical Biz]

A combination of who cares and it doesn't matter.

Seriously, from an anthropolgical standpoint it might be interesting for a scientist to know for the development of different skin colours, but for your average person it shouldn't really matter.

Just because you're not involved in it doesn't mean it's not interesting, and I think the point is that it's a interesting. But I digress...

And I think that I read that it was Black somewhere.

Yeah, looking back it was the earliest discovered corpse (As of yet)

 

[Shoggoth2588]

While it is probably true that the first humans were brown (some flavor of brown, I have no idea which) I think irony would have had the first human being come out as an albino. No way to prove it but there is also no way of disproving it.

 

[LordMoose]

Humans, who ventured north from the African continent, had to adapt to the harsh sunless climate in Europe. The skin produces necessary vitamins for the body to function, however, this process is driven by sunlight thus those who had evolved whiter skins were able to extract more energy from the sun light and they'd be selected.

Just because people from Africa are black, doesn't mean it was the default color when humans first evolved. We evolved from rather hairy monkeys that had layers of fur covering their skin so they wouldn't need much skin pigmentation. Pigmentation is an evolved trait anyways I'm assuming, so the first humans were probably pretty albino looking. More pigmented humans simply had an advantage in a warm climate so it spread around Africa.

Yes but just because we had fur doesnt mean we were not black. Hell, present day Polar Bears have black skin, and clear fur

 

[Doug]

Black, the earlier human evidence found has been found in Africa, from there we migrated all across the world, evolving to the suitable conditions.(skin colour/facial colour etc.)

Just because they lived in Africa doesn't mean they were born black at first - after all, the primates we evolved from were hair covered creatures who's skin didn't have to protect from the rays of the sun as they had hair to do that job.

When black skin pigment did evolve, it probably spread like wild fire.

 

[Jadak]

We started black, but our pigmentation adapted to better suite our climate

Yay for evolution, white and improved!

/joke /racism

 

[maxben]

People don't really understand this subject well but here is what I learned:
Black People: To protect their insides from deadly sun rays, the norm was black skin and this is evolution that occurred before humanity (in the time of apes). Black skin absorbs sunlight, but does not let it pass through. As such, it fails at supplying Vitamin D (which we receive from the sun) in colder places with less direct sunlight.
In-Between: White people began appearing in North Africa as a simple mutation with no benefits. Eventually black people from North Africa, and those mutated white, made their way to Europe. In Europe, white skin was better because black skin could not as effectively deliver vitamin D.
White People: There were Neanderthals in Europe, which many believe to be white skinned. Neanderthals mated with humans, and humans also brought the beneficial white mutation, and as it was fitter for the environment white won out in Europe. Blonds developed even later with the last Ice Age where there was so little direct sunlight people in the north needed to be paler and blond hair allowed for more vitamin D.

 

[undyingdh777]

I totally thought this was going to be about the new Pokemon games.

OT, I don't particularly care so I'll pick the all caps option.

 

[Doug]

Yes but just because we had fur doesnt mean we were not black. Hell, present day Polar Bears have black skin, and clear fur

Indeedie, but that is to prevent heat loss via heat radiation, not to protect the skin from solar radiation damage.

 

['Aredor]

Oh boy, this'll be so much fun once the first "Evolution is a lie!" and "White, because God made Adam in his image" start.

 

[microhive]

People don't really understand this subject well but here is what I learned:
Black People: To protect their insides from deadly sun rays, the norm was black skin and this is evolution that occurred before humanity (in the time of apes). Black skin absorbs sunlight, but does not let it pass through. As such, it fails at supplying Vitamin D (which we receive from the sun) in colder places with less direct sunlight.
In-Between: White people began appearing in North Africa as a simple mutation with no benefits. Eventually black people from North Africa, and those mutated white, made their way to Europe. In Europe, white skin was better because black skin could not as effectively deliver vitamin D.
White People: There were Neanderthals in Europe, which many believe to be white skinned. Neanderthals mated with humans, and humans also brought the beneficial white mutation, and as it was fitter for the environment white won out in Europe. Blonds developed even later with the last Ice Age where there was so little direct sunlight people in the north needed to be paler and blond hair allowed for more vitamin D.

Finally someone who did some research.

 

[Soxafloppin]

Google adam and Eve, there white and that is total proof.

Nat, haha.

But I'd say black people.

 

[dfcrackhead]

Wasn't there some big controversy over a topic similar to this? Someone was claiming because white people changed from being black that we were more evolved and superior?

OT: I don't really know or care, it would make sense either way I suppose

 

[microhive]

Wasn't there some big controversy over a topic similar to this? Someone was claiming because white people changed from being black that we were more evolved and superior?

OT: I don't really know or care, it would make sense either way I suppose

The term more evolved is were illusion. Skin coloured people have adapted themselves to different climates with different benefits, however, that seems to have been nullified with the explosion in transportation in recent years.