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Early modern humans in the Netherlands and the rest of Western Europe had dark skin and light eyes. This is confirmed by an important scientific analysis of the DNA of the prehistoric peoples of our continent.
A group of 125 international scientists are basing their findings on pieces of DNA found in the bone remains of 356 hunters and gatherers who roamed Europe between 35,000 and 5,000 years ago. There was according to by Volkskrant also remains of people who lived in present-day Netherlands and off the landmass of Doggerland.
The conclusion is not entirely new. For example, previous research has shown that early modern humans in Doggerland (which now lies beneath the North Sea) must have had dark skin and light eyes. The same was true for the ancestors of residents of Britain, DNA research showed in 2018.
What makes this research novel and special is the large scale on which it was conducted. This is the largest DNA dataset of hunters and gatherers, scientists involved say A day. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature.
Western Europe slowly turned white due to the rise of agriculture
Modern humans (homo sapiens) originated in Africa around 300,000 years ago and then spread throughout the world. Humans reached Europe at least 45,000 years ago.
Between 14,000 and 8,000 years ago, the skin color of prehistoric peoples in Western Europe slowly began to lighten. This was linked to the rise of agriculture. As a result, people ate less fish. The theory is that the resulting vitamin D deficiency was offset by clearer skin. It enhances the production of vitamin D from sunlight.
Due to the arrival of light-skinned people from Eastern Europe and Turkey, the people of Western Europe eventually became whiter.
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