# Why did early homo species not regain body hair when they migrated to cold climates?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-early-homo-species-not-regain-body-hair-when-they-migrated-to-cold-climates/993099>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 14, 2023, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-early-homo-species-not-regain-body-hair-when-they-migrated-to-cold-climates/993099 "2023-11-14T03:15:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-early-homo-species-not-regain-body-hair-when-they-migrated-to-cold-climates/993099/21 "2023-11-16T20:01:45Z")

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Well, I don’t think people in any meaningful numbers would want to migrate to a colder climate unless they already had begun wearing clothes for warmth.

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**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-early-homo-species-not-regain-body-hair-when-they-migrated-to-cold-climates/993099/22 "2023-11-16T21:01:24Z")

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> [@puzzlegal](#):
>
> I think the link between testosterone and more hair has to do with growing a mane and sexual differentiation, and not with anything to do with collecting calories or dissipating heat.

Several things can be true. Also note alternative adaptation. Europeans grew facial hair for protection from the cold, whild northeast Asia you find flatter noses which I presume also is protecton against frostbite on the tip of the nose.

Unfortunately, unlike stone tools, it’s hard to find exactly when early man started making use of animal pelts of even beds of leaves as nightime cover.

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**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-early-homo-species-not-regain-body-hair-when-they-migrated-to-cold-climates/993099/23 "2023-11-16T21:15:30Z")

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> [@md-2000](#):
>
> Unfortunately, unlike stone tools, it’s hard to find exactly when early man started making use of animal pelts of even beds of leaves as nightime cover.

There are some indications. The simultaneous evolution of human body lice and humans may provide an answer.

[Molecular evolution of Pediculus humanus and the origin of clothing](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12932325/#:~:text=A%20molecular%20clock%20analysis%20indicates,modern%20humans%20out%20of%20Africa.)

> [@](#):
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> A molecular clock analysis indicates that body lice originated not more than about 72,000 +/- 42,000 years ago; the mtDNA sequences also indicate a demographic expansion of body lice that correlates with the spread of modern humans out of Africa. These results suggest that clothing was a surprisingly recent innovation in human evolution.

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**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-early-homo-species-not-regain-body-hair-when-they-migrated-to-cold-climates/993099/24 "2023-11-16T21:46:36Z")

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Is there really any evidence that early hominids, before Homo Sapiens or Neandertals, had hairy bodies? Or have we been assuming that the first people out of the trees, out of Africa, were just smarter chimpanzee cousins? Are we really sure that Homo Habilis wasn’t already naked?

Maybe that assumtion is incorrect and that our early species of hominid weren’t as hairy as we think.

The divergence of human lice into two separate species, head and body lice, goes back a long, long way. Longer than tool making, and probably longer than clothes. The hairy ape who lost their hair so they could run down and chase game is probably a million years out of date.

Is there any evidence for hairy bodied ancestors?

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