[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.