Meet your ancestors.
Super interesting how there is no transition to lighter skin. The more primal sculptures are just brown and as soon as it resembles current humans, it’s white with blue eyes like our modern day mythical Jesus (because we all know that if he existed, he was Black or way browner than we depict). I’m missing the connection.
There is scientific evidence that Neanderthals were light skinned.
They were also responsible for the “ginger” gene that makes one red haired and freckled.
Some reason - I still call bullshit for the “light skinned” Neanderthal the title of the article you linked:
Some Neanderthals Were RedheadsBig fucking difference between SOME and blatantly dismissing all other skin tones with a statement like “There is scientific evidence that Neanderthals were light skinned.”But whatever -I didn’t say they were all red haired, I said they were light skinned. It has nothing to do with them being any more advanced. It had to do with geography and natural selection.
There’s less sunlight at higher latitudes, less need for protection from UV rays, and it gave them the ability to absorb more sunlight (because there was less available at the higher latitudes) to synthesize vitamin d.
It had nothing to with with their “superiority” or them being more advanced. In fact they were out-competed by homo sapiens and went extinct.
(Another theory says they were absorbed into homo-sapiens, but it’s found that modern humans on the European and Asian continents only contain about 1-4% Neanderthal DNA, which probably means there was some breeding between the groups, but they were more than likely out-competed for resources by more “modern” humans.)
And yet for “light-skinned” they all look like white jesus?
Okay, along with this and your other reply, I see what you are getting at, that he looks more “modern” than the other’s shown.
I thought the same thing the first time I saw the picture, but then I noticed the low sloping forehead, the thick brows, and the the small chin.
The artist that did these based them on re-constructions using skulls, also Neanderthals existed around the same time as modern humans and would have looked similar aside from the features I described above.
They were a close enough relative that they produced viable offspring with “modern” humans.
I do understand where you’re coming from, but I think there may be a misunderstanding as to where Neanderthals fit in human evolution.
They were another species of “human” that co-existed with “modern” humans and were out competed for resources.
I feel like it is a mistake on he artist’s part to have a mutant representative of Neanderthal. It is really not surprising that the artist is a white man. Yes, early human ancestors did eventually gain light skin, hair and eyes through a series of mutations and adaptations as they moved around and lived in colder, less sunny places. However, the implication here (as Neanderthal is the most evolved species represented here) is pretty astounding, at least to me and I suppose other PoC, that we became more ‘evolved’ as we gained lighter skin. Again, yes there is scientific and factual backing behind light-complected Neanderthal but choosing to go with the trinity of light complexion really, really gives off gross, covert racism vibes.
I have to disagree that this is racist because its scientifically accurate. To suggest that lighter skin= higher evolution is a thought process that racist society would apply on their own; it does not compel the scientists to misrepresent the fact that Neanderthals were most likely light skinned because they are only found in certain parts of Europe.
You should negate that claim that evolutionary anthropology does not make when it is made by racist society. It is not made by the scientists in this situation. Furthermore, there was an evolutionary anthro breakthrough just a few months ago that clearly denies scientific racism as it suggests that only people of African heritage are free of Neanderthal DNA and are 100% human.
OMG! ANTHROPOLOGY!
