# Blacks or whites, which was first?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [July 12, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570 "2002-07-12T05:15:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570/21 "2002-07-15T20:11:15Z")

</div>

\*\*I think BeatenMan raises a valid point. There’s more genetic variety among African peoples than there is among people from anywhere else in the world, so it’s logical that blacks would predate whites. \*\* I recently read something that said most early Europeans died out during an ice age, possibly as few as 50 managed to survive to eventually repopulate Europe and this is why there is so little genetic variation in Europeans. I haven’t managed to find the link yet, anyone?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570/22 "2002-07-15T20:41:41Z")

</div>

Hey **Balduran** , could you be thinking of [The Seven Daughters of Eve](http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/daughters000420.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570/23 "2002-07-15T21:43:37Z")

</div>

I’ve been listening here and checking out a few sites.  
The jest is this, Early hominids had varying ranges in skin color, just as the human race does now. Some were lighter and some were darker. But none, at least in significant numbers could be considered either black or white.  
Just as some chimps today are “black, brown, white, etc.” it has to do more with genetics, diet, and location. WE evolved together, actually I guess you could say our predecessors evolved together and WE, being the paranoid species that we are, formed groups of US and THEM. By and large early humans were dark haired, brown eyed and tan in varying shades.

HMMM I believe that still describes the bulk of humanity, so whats the deal!

We ALL started this way and will eventually ALL be this way again. Peace:)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2002, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570/24 "2002-07-16T13:18:05Z")

</div>

That’s not the article I read before **Biggirl** but maybe it was trying to explain why there was only those seven clans.

Btw, a cool site for [the ice age](http://www.insticeagestudies.com/).

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blacks-or-whites-which-was-first/118570.md?page=1)