Why do Europeans have blonde hair and blue eyes?

It seems like the same thing might have happened in northern Europe in the Ice Age. Around this time, humans were hunter-gatherers, so most men were off hunting for (and being killed by) wooly mammoths and such. For whatever reason, men in these populations developed a preference for blonde hair and blue eyes.

How did blonde hair and blue eyes evolve?

It has been theorised that the blonde hair and blue eyes seen in Caucasians are recent adaptations, dating from approximately 11,000 years ago. The traits are thought to have evolved among northern European tribes at the end of the last ice age.

Why are blue eyes common in Europe?

Blue eyes are most common in Europe, especially Scandinavia. People with blue eyes have the same genetic mutation that causes eyes to produce less melanin. The mutation first appeared in a person living in Europe about 10,000 years ago. That individual is a common ancestor of all blue-eyed people today.

What European country has blonde hair and blue eyes?

Fascination of Italian men towards the blonde women of Scandinavian countries is no exaggeration. Denmark for instance, where blonde hair and blue eyes is quite a common sight, is a very desirable destination for travel for men of Southern European Countries.

Why Europeans have different eye colors?

Turns out most Europeans have blue eyes because of a difference in their HERC2 gene. Because in this case skin and eye color both depend on the same gene, they are linked. Those ancient people born with blue eyes also had light skin. Light skin helped them make the vitamin D they needed to stay healthy.

Why did hunter gatherers have blue eyes and blonde hair?

They also had a third gene, HERC2/OCA2, which causes blue eyes and may also contribute to light skin and blond hair. Thus ancient hunter-gatherers of the far north were already pale and blue-eyed, but those of central and southern Europe had darker skin.

Why do some African people have blue eyes?

The Vitamin D hypothesis In Africa dark eyes, skin and hair are the norm, but blue eyes are more common in southern Europe and even more common in northern Europe, where 70 per cent of people have blue eyes.

Why did humans evolve with blue eyes?

There’s also the idea that blue eyes were advantageous because they perceive stationary objects better than moving things. This could have been an advantage to hunter gatherer women who needed to identify and collect plant foods — indeed blue eyes may even have evolved in women first.

Why do Blondes have blond hair and blue eyes?

Frost explains that at the end of the last Ice Age, there was an environment of fierce competition among the females of the northern European regions for suitable male partners, as males were comparatively scarce during that time. The blond hair and blue eyes made these women stand out and made sexual selection easier for them.