# What is man's natural skin color? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266 "2005-01-23T17:19:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hartbc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/4da419/32.png) [@hartbc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hartbc)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/1 "2005-01-23T17:19:38Z")
I’m not quite sure if I am wording this question correctly, but I am wondering what skin color would the original homo sapiens. Are humans naturally light skinned and only darker skinned owing to the sun or vice versa owing to some sort of vitamin deficiency. Perhaps there is no answer to this, but i am curious to hear what people think. And please, do not let this question become some wierd race war. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/2 "2005-01-23T17:33:39Z")
[This](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skin_color) Wikipedia article gives a reasonable summary of thinking on the issue. Gorillas and chimps are light-skinned beneath their hair. The ancestral human probably was also. Upon evolutionarily losing their hair, humans probably first developed dark skin in order to protect against destruction of the B-vitamin folate and skin damage by intense tropical sunlight. Development of lighter skin when some populations migrated to areas with less intense sunlight probably has to do with manufacturing enough vitamin D in the skin. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/3 "2005-01-23T21:18:47Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Gorillas and chimps are light-skinned beneath their hair. I think [this guy](http://img169.exs.cx/img169/2310/gorilla7ht.jpg) would disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Josh\_dePlume](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Josh\_dePlume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Josh_dePlume)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/4 "2005-01-23T21:31:47Z")
I don’t know much about the evolution of skin color, but I think that “the original homo sapiens” is ill-defined. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/5 "2005-01-23T21:32:01Z")
> [@Can Handle the Truth](#): > > I think [this guy](http://img169.exs.cx/img169/2310/gorilla7ht.jpg) would disagree. Hmm, my x-ray specs are on the fritz; that photo doesn’t show what color the gorilla’s skin is under his fur. Can you see something I can’t? ---
**Author:** ![Strinka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/strinka/32/512_2.png) [@Strinka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strinka)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/6 "2005-01-23T21:48:04Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > Hmm, my x-ray specs are on the fritz; that photo doesn’t show what color the gorilla’s skin is under his fur. Can you see something I can’t? Its face is black. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the rest of it is black, though. ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/7 "2005-01-23T21:53:25Z")
In fact the darkness of his face would seem to back up the assertation that > [@Colibri](#): > > Upon evolutionarily losing their hair, humans probably first developed dark skin in order to protect against destruction of the B-vitamin folate and skin damage by intense tropical sunlight. Development of lighter skin when some populations migrated to areas with less intense sunlight probably has to do with manufacturing enough vitamin D in the skin As his face would be exposed to the sunlight, meaning it would result in dark skin. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/8 "2005-01-23T22:18:22Z")
Every encyclopedia I have checked says that gorillas have black skin all over. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/9 "2005-01-23T22:42:59Z")
After doing some checking around, I’ll withdraw gorilla (my mention of it was based in part on the Wiki article). However, I’ll stand by [chimpanzee](http://ladywildlife.com/animal/chimpanzee1.htm), at least in the case of young animals (older ones may darken). In any case, chimps are more closely related to humans than gorillas are. ---
**Author:** ![Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Can\_Handle\_the\_Truth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Can_Handle_the_Truth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/10 "2005-01-23T23:03:11Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ll withdraw gorilla. [Thaks a lot, pal!](http://img172.exs.cx/img172/6711/whitegorilla8sx.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/11 "2005-01-24T02:30:37Z")
> [@hartbc](#): > > I’m not quite sure if I am wording this question correctly, but I am wondering what skin color would the original homo sapiens. Are humans naturally light skinned and only darker skinned owing to the sun or vice versa owing to some sort of vitamin deficiency. Perhaps there is no answer to this, but i am curious to hear what people think. And please, do not let this question become some wierd race war. Thanks in advance. It has something to do with chromosomes and can vary from albino white to ‘blue’ black, depending on the combination, with something like sixteen distinct ‘colors’ IIRC. Perhaps an expert can elaborate. BTW No one has any idea what the ‘original homo sapiens’ looked like, but lots of conjectures. ---
**Author:** ![SallyCan\_tDance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@SallyCan\_tDance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyCan_tDance)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/12 "2005-01-24T06:46:13Z")
In that Wikipedia entry they say that “On average, women have slightly lighter skin than men.” Why would this be? ---
**Author:** ![SallyCan\_tDance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@SallyCan\_tDance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SallyCan_tDance)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/13 "2005-01-24T06:47:54Z")
Sorry, just to clarify: Why would sexual selection favour paler skin in women? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/14 "2005-01-24T06:56:17Z")
Are women actually paler at birth? ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/15 "2005-01-24T06:57:32Z")
I should have said, “Are _females_ paler at birth?” ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/16 "2005-01-24T08:11:10Z")
As I pointed out [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=5752334#post5752334), they are no expert. Man’s natural skin color is the [average](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=298479) skin color for the human race. In that case, average would not be so bad. > [@spingears](#): > > It has something to do with chromosomes and can vary from albino white to ‘blue’ black, depending on the combination, with something like sixteen distinct ‘colors’ IIRC. Perhaps an expert can elaborate. > [@SallyCan'tDance](#): > > In that Wikipedia entry they say that “On average, women have slightly lighter skin than men.” ---
**Author:** ![RandomLetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8edcca/32.png) [@RandomLetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandomLetters)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/17 "2005-01-24T14:50:33Z")
> [@SallyCan'tDance](#): > > Sorry, just to clarify: Why would sexual selection favour paler skin in women? Well, Vitamin D aids in Calcium absorbtion, and Women need lots of Calcium when they are pregnant. Lighter skin = more Vitamin D produced by the body. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/18 "2005-01-24T15:20:50Z")
> [@Can Handle the Truth](#): > > [Thaks a lot, pal!](http://img172.exs.cx/img172/6711/whitegorilla8sx.jpg) As soon as I saw that, I thought “that looks like somebody.” Then it hit me: [James Coburn](http://www.posterchoice.com/a/photographs/J/James_Coburn/product_11016.html?s=537696990000000000000000). ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/19 "2005-01-24T15:45:04Z")
A famous geneticist named Spencer Wells said that the modern humans were dark, so that’s basically another point in favor of what’s been said. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266/20 "2005-01-24T17:18:11Z")
> [@SallyCan'tDance](#): > > Sorry, just to clarify: Why would sexual selection favour paler skin in women? It says “sexual preference,” implying that human males may have some innate preference for lighter skinned females independent of other selective factors. (A similar preference on the part of females could be postulated for facial hair in males. On the other hand, I have seen speculation that facial hair in males could have been selected for by intermale competion, by favoring those that were better able to conceal their emotions in aggressive interactions - the moustache and beard concealing emotional expression by the mouth.) An innate male preference for light females exclusive of other factors seems unlikely to me. However, if lighter-skinned females are more likely to have healthy babies due to a better ability to utilize calcium, a preference by males could develop for this indirect indicator of fecundity. However, all this is speculation - I am not aware of any evidence for this. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mans-natural-skin-color/286266.md?page=2)