Why did we get different races under Christianity.

[Stan Loh]

My friend and I was debating on the topic about different races if we followed Christianity. It says the first two humans were Adam and Eve, so supposedly they are white or any other race for that matter, moving along, how did we get other races like asian, african, etc. Could it be one of their offspring somewhere along the way had like a sunburn or something and the child got some of his properties? And it kept going?

And also, take away Christianity. How did we get different races under human evolution?

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]

My friend and I was debating on the topic about different races if we followed Christianity. It says the first two humans were Adam and Eve, so supposedly they are white or any other race for that matter, moving along, how did we get other races like asian, african, etc. Could it be one of their offspring somewhere along the way had like a sunburn or something and the child got some of his properties? And it kept going?

[/ QUOTE ]

sunburned people don't give birth to sunburned children. That's not how heredity works at all.

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
My friend and I was debating on the topic about different races if we followed Christianity. It says the first two humans were Adam and Eve, so supposedly they are white or any other race for that matter, moving along, how did we get other races like asian, african, etc. Could it be one of their offspring somewhere along the way had like a sunburn or something and the child got some of his properties? And it kept going?

Post Extras


[/ QUOTE ]

Some Christians believe that the Mark of Cain was a darkening of his skin by God , as punishment for killing his brother. All his seed are also punished for his sin. Asians, I suppose, must be just halfway sinful.

[Alex-db]

It could have been the Christian answer though; they wouldn't let reality get in the way.

A sunburn story actually sounds like it could have come right from the bible, with men created from dirt and women materialising from ribs.

The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints apparently believe native americans were coloured by God for murdering the natives.

[yukoncpa]

[ QUOTE ]
The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints apparently believe native americans were coloured by God for murdering the natives.



[/ QUOTE ] You mean the wicked natives ( the lamenites ) were coloured for killing the rightious natives ( the nephites ) That's fair isn't it?

[Alex-db]

I wouldn't judge a hypothetical judgement. It wouldn't be unfair for colour to have come through hereditary sunburn.

I think OPs second question is much more useful.

I'm certainly no expert, but I'm going to guess that reproductive selection led to paler skin in geographical areas where it didn't impede life expectancy.

[Roland32]

[ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't judge a hypothetical judgement. It wouldn't be unfair for colour to have come through hereditary sunburn.

I think OPs second question is much more useful.

I'm certainly no expert, but I'm going to guess that reproductive selection led to paler skin in geographical areas where it didn't impede life expectancy.

[/ QUOTE ]

The body produces vitamin E from sunlight. The stronger the sunlight the more melanin you need to protect yourself from the suns damage. It a balance between these two interests that most likely caused skin color change, which also explains the geographic differences, i.e. closer to the equater darker the skin.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

how did we get other races like asian, african, etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

Micro-evolution.

[luckyme]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

how did we get other races like asian, african, etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

Micro-evolution.

[/ QUOTE ]

Which mutations are barred under 'rules of microevolution'? Could a chicken develop web feet? Could a chicken develop a wider bill? Could a chicken with web feet develop a wider bill?
Top of the head examples, do what you can with the idea.

thanks, luckyme

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

Which mutations are barred under 'rules of microevolution'?


[/ QUOTE ]

Those which God didn't program.

[2OuterJitsu]

[ QUOTE ]
My friend and I was debating on the topic about different races if we followed Christianity. It says the first two humans were Adam and Eve, so supposedly they are white or any other race for that matter, moving along, how did we get other races like asian, african, etc. Could it be one of their offspring somewhere along the way had like a sunburn or something and the child got some of his properties? And it kept going?

And also, take away Christianity. How did we get different races under human evolution?

[/ QUOTE ]

Sons of Noah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Noah)
This link is a summary of once popular thought. Good starting point. I don't endorse it, just passing it along.

[Alex-db]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Which mutations are barred under 'rules of microevolution'?


[/ QUOTE ]

Those which God didn't program.

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Is this 2+2 "levelling"?

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Which mutations are barred under 'rules of microevolution'?


[/ QUOTE ]

Those which God didn't program.

[/ QUOTE ]

/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Is this 2+2 "levelling"?

[/ QUOTE ]

You must be new here. No, he's serious.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

Is this 2+2 "levelling"?


[/ QUOTE ]

Ok, which mutations are barred under 'rules of chance + impersonal natural law'?

[Alex-db]

None of them.

But the ones that don't end up reproducing themselves are unlikely to occur frequently in nature.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

None of them.


[/ QUOTE ]

So a cow could mutate to a bald eagle? Though it would be a short-lived species, I guess.

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

None of them.


[/ QUOTE ]

So a cow could mutate to a bald eagle? Though it would be a short-lived species, I guess.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. But, is it more likely than 1 in a googol?

[Alex-db]

I guess it would be something like saying that Everest could be weathered by one tornado into being an exact copy of Mont Blanc, but I can't see a thought-experiment problem with it at the extremes of chance.

Of course, cow DNA happens to reasonably accurately and consistently build new cows. As you said, big errors tend to be short lived since chance isn't good at building repeatability.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

chance isn't good at building repeatability.


[/ QUOTE ]

Chance should take some lessons from God.

[Duke]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

chance isn't good at building repeatability.


[/ QUOTE ]

Chance should take some lessons from God.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess chance is to blame for the mule, then.

[Inso0]

Adam and Eve were probably middle brown in color. Think islander.

The ol' AaBb argument.

AaBb is capable of producing 16 combinations of color.

AABB = that really dark supermodel who's name escapes me
aabb = marilyn manson

If Adam and Eve were AaBb they could produce children all over the skin color spectrum over time.

As far as the other things that make the races seem distinct. I.E. big flat noses on black people, aisan eyes, etc... these are all things that can result due to geographic isolation.

Many people believe the Tower of Babel had something to do with this.

[Sephus]

[ QUOTE ]
As far as the other things that make the races seem distinct. I.E. big flat noses on black people, aisan eyes, etc... these are all things that can result due to geographic isolation.

[/ QUOTE ]

why did you post that half-assed explanation of skin color heredity when you could have said "it can result due to geographic isolation" like everything else?

[Inso0]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
As far as the other things that make the races seem distinct. I.E. big flat noses on black people, aisan eyes, etc... these are all things that can result due to geographic isolation.

[/ QUOTE ]

why did you post that half-assed explanation of skin color heredity when you could have said "it can result due to geographic isolation" like everything else?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see what your beef is. Seems to me you're just being combative.

The OP inquired how Christians explain the races. I merely said that Adam and Eve's DNA would have contained all the information for the variety we see today.

The exact same concept would apply to the rest of the animal kingdom.

Again, what exactly is your problem?

[Sephus]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
As far as the other things that make the races seem distinct. I.E. big flat noses on black people, aisan eyes, etc... these are all things that can result due to geographic isolation.

[/ QUOTE ]

why did you post that half-assed explanation of skin color heredity when you could have said "it can result due to geographic isolation" like everything else?

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see what your beef is. Seems to me you're just being combative.

The OP inquired how Christians explain the races. I merely said that Adam and Eve's DNA would have contained all the information for the variety we see today.

The exact same concept would apply to the rest of the animal kingdom.

Again, what exactly is your problem?

[/ QUOTE ]

the problem is that you had the option to be that vague in the first place and you didn't take it.

[Hopey]

[ QUOTE ]
Many people believe the Tower of Babel had something to do with this.

[/ QUOTE ]

Of course! Makes total sense now.

[soon2bepro]

[ QUOTE ]
How did we get different races under human evolution?

[/ QUOTE ]

You're kidding, right? The most basic understanding of evolution explains this. If you don't know, you can't know what evolution is. Try this. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution)

[T50_Omaha8]

[ QUOTE ]
Adam and Eve were probably middle brown in color. Think islander.

The ol' AaBb argument.

AaBb is capable of producing 16 combinations of color.

AABB = that really dark supermodel who's name escapes me
aabb = marilyn manson

If Adam and Eve were AaBb they could produce children all over the skin color spectrum over time.

[/ QUOTE ]Yup, and God spread the races out across the planet in such a way that skin pigmentation and proximity to the equator correlate nearly perfectly to provide evidence for heretical theories of human history which God created to test our faith, obv.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

which God created to test our faith


[/ QUOTE ]

Which faith might that be?

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

which God created to test our faith


[/ QUOTE ]

Which faith might that be?

[/ QUOTE ]

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f242/hoyahawk/Faith_Hill.jpg

She passed.

[Inso0]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Adam and Eve were probably middle brown in color. Think islander.

The ol' AaBb argument.

AaBb is capable of producing 16 combinations of color.

AABB = that really dark supermodel who's name escapes me
aabb = marilyn manson

If Adam and Eve were AaBb they could produce children all over the skin color spectrum over time.

[/ QUOTE ]Yup, and God spread the races out across the planet in such a way that skin pigmentation and proximity to the equator correlate nearly perfectly to provide evidence for heretical theories of human history which God created to test our faith, obv.

[/ QUOTE ]


Are you telling me that it's impossible to hypothesize that light skinned people might have realized, "Hey, you know this sun thing sucks ass. We keep dying of skin disease and these nasty burns. Not to mention it's just SO FOOKING HOT ALL THE TIME, maybe we should try and seek a more temperate climate instead of living.

You don't think that's even remotely possible?

I only bring this up to point out that there is more than one way of looking at a particular circumstance.


How do you explain the dark skinned inuit? Last I checked, Alaska wasn't exactly all that close to the equator.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Adam and Eve were probably middle brown in color. Think islander.

The ol' AaBb argument.

AaBb is capable of producing 16 combinations of color.

AABB = that really dark supermodel who's name escapes me
aabb = marilyn manson

If Adam and Eve were AaBb they could produce children all over the skin color spectrum over time.

[/ QUOTE ]Yup, and God spread the races out across the planet in such a way that skin pigmentation and proximity to the equator correlate nearly perfectly to provide evidence for heretical theories of human history which God created to test our faith, obv.

[/ QUOTE ]


Are you telling me that it's impossible to hypothesize that light skinned people might have realized, "Hey, you know this sun thing sucks ass. We keep dying of skin disease and these nasty burns. Not to mention it's just SO FOOKING HOT ALL THE TIME, maybe we should try and seek a more temperate climate instead of living.

You don't think that's even remotely possible?

I only bring this up to point out that there is more than one way of looking at a particular circumstance.


How do you explain the dark skinned inuit? Last I checked, Alaska wasn't exactly all that close to the equator.

[/ QUOTE ]

That all of them did this is not impossible, but it is probably ~ 1/googol.

[BillNye]

There is a gene for skin pigment, could of been a mutation (there are some good / neutral mutations).

[Inso0]

[ QUOTE ]
There is a gene for skin pigment, could of been a mutation (there are some good / neutral mutations).

[/ QUOTE ]


Example?

[Inso0]

[ QUOTE ]

That all of them did this is not impossible, but it is probably ~ 1/googol.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you think the odds of human ancestors not very tolerant to extreme temperatures to have had the intelligence to MOVE are 1:100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000?

When it's 90 degrees outside, I think the odds of you turning on the air conditioning is a little better than that.

I also think the odds of someone figuring out that it gets cooler the further north/south you go are a bit better than that too.

Edited by Rduke55 to fit the window

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

That all of them did this is not impossible, but it is probably ~ 1/googol.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you think the odds of human ancestors not very tolerant to extreme temperatures to have had the intelligence to MOVE are 1:100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000?

When it's 90 degrees outside, I think the odds of you turning on the air conditioning is a little better than that.

I also think the odds of someone figuring out that it gets cooler the further north/south you go are a bit better than that too.

[/ QUOTE ]

ALL of them? ALL of them decided to move? ALL people decided to align themselves with the the appropriate sun conditions all over the globe? Its pretty unlikely. Not sure if its 1/googol, that was a bit of an inside joke, but its well outside the realm of reasonable possibility.

Edited by Rduke55 to fit the window

[Inso0]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

That all of them did this is not impossible, but it is probably ~ 1/googol.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you think the odds of human ancestors not very tolerant to extreme temperatures to have had the intelligence to MOVE are 1:100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000?

When it's 90 degrees outside, I think the odds of you turning on the air conditioning is a little better than that.

I also think the odds of someone figuring out that it gets cooler the further north/south you go are a bit better than that too.

[/ QUOTE ]

ALL of them? ALL of them decided to move? ALL people decided to align themselves with the the appropriate sun conditions all over the globe? Its pretty unlikely. Not sure if its 1/googol, that was a bit of an inside joke, but its well outside the realm of reasonable possibility.

[/ QUOTE ]


Again, how do you explain the inuit?

Edited by Rduke55 to fit the window

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

That all of them did this is not impossible, but it is probably ~ 1/googol.

[/ QUOTE ]

So you think the odds of human ancestors not very tolerant to extreme temperatures to have had the intelligence to MOVE are 1:100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 00000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000?

When it's 90 degrees outside, I think the odds of you turning on the air conditioning is a little better than that.

I also think the odds of someone figuring out that it gets cooler the further north/south you go are a bit better than that too.

[/ QUOTE ]

ALL of them? ALL of them decided to move? ALL people decided to align themselves with the the appropriate sun conditions all over the globe? Its pretty unlikely. Not sure if its 1/googol, that was a bit of an inside joke, but its well outside the realm of reasonable possibility.

[/ QUOTE ]


Again, how do you explain the inuit?

[/ QUOTE ]

Hmmm...never really thought about it. The answer appears to be seals. Interesting, huh?

Stop quoting it when this happens, jerks. I'm not paid by the hour you know.

[hasugopher]

I don't want to derail this discussion in any way, I just want to point out it appears that Inso0 makes a complete fool out of himself on a number of different topics.

As an outside observer, it is rather humorous to me. Carry on.

[T50_Omaha8]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you explain the dark skinned inuit?

[/ QUOTE ] Because they arrived on the american landmass relatively recently, genetic adaptation has yet to take place in the people of the north america as thoroughly as it has in the rest of the world. This seems to support my theory much more than it supports your 'theory.'

[ QUOTE ]
Are you telling me that it's impossible to hypothesize that light skinned people might have realized, "Hey, you know this sun thing sucks ass. We keep dying of skin disease and these nasty burns. Not to mention it's just SO FOOKING HOT ALL THE TIME, maybe we should try and seek a more temperate climate instead of living.

[/ QUOTE ] It's not at all impossible to hypothesize it.

On a side note, I hypothesize that it's going to rain donuts tomorrow, and then the sugar gumdrop princess will become my bride and we'll happily rule Candyland.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How do you explain the dark skinned inuit?

[/ QUOTE ] Because they arrived on the american landmass relatively recently, genetic adaptation has yet to take place in the people of the north america as thoroughly as it has in the rest of the world. This seems to support my theory much more than it supports your 'theory.'

[ QUOTE ]
Are you telling me that it's impossible to hypothesize that light skinned people might have realized, "Hey, you know this sun thing sucks ass. We keep dying of skin disease and these nasty burns. Not to mention it's just SO FOOKING HOT ALL THE TIME, maybe we should try and seek a more temperate climate instead of living.

[/ QUOTE ] It's not at all impossible to hypothesize it.

On a side note, I hypothesize that it's going to rain donuts tomorrow, and then the sugar gumdrop princess will become my bride and we'll happily rule Candyland.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm actually not sure that really is the explanation for the Inuits, although I don't know for sure. A quick Google search implied that there really isn't much selective pressure on the Inuits to adapt to a lighter skin, because they get enough Vitamin D through their diet.

[arahant]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

which God created to test our faith


[/ QUOTE ]

Which faith might that be?

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't get a lot of compliments on here, NR, so I'd like to make one.

I want you to know that from what I've seen, you are less dumb than Inso. At least you have the good sense to effectively dodge arguments you can't win.

[T50_Omaha8]

[ QUOTE ]
The Inuit people of the American Subarctic are an exception. They have moderately heavy skin pigmentation despite the far northern latitude at which they live. While this is a disadvantage for vitamin D production, they apparently made up for it by eating fish and sea mammal blubber that are high in D. In addition, the Inuit have been in the far north for only about 5,000 years. This may not have been enough time for significantly lower melanin production to have been selected for by nature.

[/ QUOTE ] linky (http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_4.htm)

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
The Inuit people of the American Subarctic are an exception. They have moderately heavy skin pigmentation despite the far northern latitude at which they live. While this is a disadvantage for vitamin D production, they apparently made up for it by eating fish and sea mammal blubber that are high in D. In addition, the Inuit have been in the far north for only about 5,000 years. This may not have been enough time for significantly lower melanin production to have been selected for by nature.

[/ QUOTE ] linky (http://anthro.palomar.edu/adapt/adapt_4.htm)

[/ QUOTE ]

We both win! /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

You don't get a lot of compliments on here, NR, so I'd like to make one


[/ QUOTE ]

You have a sick definition of compliment. What argument am I dodging? You forgot to call me a troll. Oh yeah, I'm intellectually dishonest, please remember that.

You people learn debate from Dawkins?

[MrMon]

That seems to be a really poor explanation for the Inuit. Given that they spend most of their time in an environment of snow and ice, even in summer, where the sun reflecting off the pure white can be blinding, it seems like they would develop dark skin for the same reason people near the equator do, protection against the sun. For the dark winter months, it makes no difference what color your skin is, it's dark! Hence, darker skin wins.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

You don't get a lot of compliments on here, NR, so I'd like to make one


[/ QUOTE ]

You have a sick definition of compliment. What argument am I dodging? You forgot to call me a troll. Oh yeah, I'm intellectually dishonest, please remember that.

You people learn debate from Dawkins?

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL irony.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
That seems to be a really poor explanation for the Inuit. Given that they spend most of their time in an environment of snow and ice, even in summer, where the sun reflecting off the pure white can be blinding, it seems like they would develop dark skin for the same reason people near the equator do, protection against the sun. For the dark winter months, it makes no difference what color your skin is, it's dark! Hence, darker skin wins.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you have to understand what the actual selection pressures are, and why black people turned white in some areas. This is my understanding. Near the equator, people get enough sunlight to create enough vitamin D, even though the copious melanin in their skin blocks a significant portion of the UV radiation. They are at a balance, since this same UV also causes cellular damage. As you move to latitudes that receive less sunlight, and less direct sunlight, you get less UV, and thus less vitamin D production, eventually leading to rickets and other problems. So, it now confers a selective advantage to produce less melanin, and there isn't the countermanding negative pressure of cellular damage. So, people tend to get whiter as they move away. However, if you are getting a whole bunch of vitamin D (actually its ACTIVATED vitamin D) in your diet, there is no pressure to develop lighter skin. Since there is no disadvantage to having a bunch of melanin (besides a slight metabolic cost) and since you still have the (albeit lessened) risk of cellular damage from the UV radiation, it makes some sense that you would remain darker skinned.

[NotReady]

[ QUOTE ]

You people learn debate from Dawkins?



LOL irony.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll take that as a yes.

[MrMon]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That seems to be a really poor explanation for the Inuit. Given that they spend most of their time in an environment of snow and ice, even in summer, where the sun reflecting off the pure white can be blinding, it seems like they would develop dark skin for the same reason people near the equator do, protection against the sun. For the dark winter months, it makes no difference what color your skin is, it's dark! Hence, darker skin wins.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you have to understand what the actual selection pressures are, and why black people turned white in some areas. This is my understanding. Near the equator, people get enough sunlight to create enough vitamin D, even though the copious melanin in their skin blocks a significant portion of the UV radiation. They are at a balance, since this same UV also causes cellular damage. As you move to latitudes that receive less sunlight, and less direct sunlight, you get less UV, and thus less vitamin D production, eventually leading to rickets and other problems. So, it now confers a selective advantage to produce less melanin, and there isn't the countermanding negative pressure of cellular damage. So, people tend to get whiter as they move away. However, if you are getting a whole bunch of vitamin D (actually its ACTIVATED vitamin D) in your diet, there is no pressure to develop lighter skin. Since there is no disadvantage to having a bunch of melanin (besides a slight metabolic cost) and since you still have the (albeit lessened) risk of cellular damage from the UV radiation, it makes some sense that you would remain darker skinned.

[/ QUOTE ]

This assumes the Inuit came from somewhere where they were dark skinned, zoomed up to the Arctic before their skin could lighten, and then quickly adopted a high Vitamin D diet so there was no pressure to lower melanin in their skin. Seems unlikely.

[Stan Loh]

Looks like the best answer I got is, The Tower Of Babel had something to do with this.

[SNOWBALL]

[ QUOTE ]


How do you explain the dark skinned inuit? Last I checked, Alaska wasn't exactly all that close to the equator.


[/ QUOTE ]

snow will sunburn the [censored] out of you

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

You people learn debate from Dawkins?



LOL irony.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'll take that as a yes.

[/ QUOTE ]

Did you learn typing from Satan?

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
That seems to be a really poor explanation for the Inuit. Given that they spend most of their time in an environment of snow and ice, even in summer, where the sun reflecting off the pure white can be blinding, it seems like they would develop dark skin for the same reason people near the equator do, protection against the sun. For the dark winter months, it makes no difference what color your skin is, it's dark! Hence, darker skin wins.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you have to understand what the actual selection pressures are, and why black people turned white in some areas. This is my understanding. Near the equator, people get enough sunlight to create enough vitamin D, even though the copious melanin in their skin blocks a significant portion of the UV radiation. They are at a balance, since this same UV also causes cellular damage. As you move to latitudes that receive less sunlight, and less direct sunlight, you get less UV, and thus less vitamin D production, eventually leading to rickets and other problems. So, it now confers a selective advantage to produce less melanin, and there isn't the countermanding negative pressure of cellular damage. So, people tend to get whiter as they move away. However, if you are getting a whole bunch of vitamin D (actually its ACTIVATED vitamin D) in your diet, there is no pressure to develop lighter skin. Since there is no disadvantage to having a bunch of melanin (besides a slight metabolic cost) and since you still have the (albeit lessened) risk of cellular damage from the UV radiation, it makes some sense that you would remain darker skinned.

[/ QUOTE ]

This assumes the Inuit came from somewhere where they were dark skinned, zoomed up to the Arctic before their skin could lighten, and then quickly adopted a high Vitamin D diet so there was no pressure to lower melanin in their skin. Seems unlikely.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the almost certainly came from somewhere where they had dark skin...everyone did. And yeah, the 'zooming' up there thing isn't that much of a stretch, at least on the timescales we are talking about. The diet goes right along with the 'zooming.'