Expert: John Shea - 9/12/2007

Question
It's commonly suggested in anthropological circles that Caucasians developed much lighter skin/blond or red  hair/blue-eyes etc. etc., over generations,as a result of living in a cold, wet  climate. Yet this seems obviously untrue since Eskimos have black hair/brown eyes and have thrived in much colder climates than many Indo-Europeans. What's your take re this?
Thanks
G

Answer
Dear Gerald
The derived features of European Caucasians are thought to have evolved over the course of tens of thousands of years in response to low light conditions during last glaciation.  These populations evolved from African ancestors.The Eskimo/Inuit have only been in the subarctic for a relatively recent period (less than 6000 years) and during an interglacial (more sunlight at higher latitudes).  Many of the Inuit's features are retained from their East Asian ancestors.  Down the line (10,000s of years from now) the soft-tissue physical adaptations (eye, hair color) they develop will differ from those evolved in Europe.  They have already converge with Europeans in some respects (relatively short distal limbs -ie, ulna/radius, tibia) related to cold stress.
Cheers,
John Shea