The assertion of the ancient Indian proverb “Vasudaiva kutumbakam” (=the entire world is one family) is in agreement with scientific results that indicate humans began in Africa and eventually spread out and occupied various regions of the world.
The skin, eye, and hair hues of the current world human population vary widely. The mutations in human genes, which in turn led to new variations in physical traits and the diversity of human races, were caused by a variety of natural geological events that had an impact on Earth.
Major volcanic eruptions like the one that occurred on Mt. Toba in Sumatra (about 74,000 years ago) after the genesis of humans likely had a significant impact on the current human races. The nuclear winter that followed the disastrous volcanic eruption and the dense dust storms may have had significant mutational impacts on the physiology and genetic makeup of people who eventually survived the catastrophe.
Similar to how other natural disasters, such as earthquakes, desertification, and river migration, diversion, and drying up, have affected human migrations, which in turn has affected interactions with other human groups.
Skin colour evolution after LGM
Around 10,000 years ago, the Pleistocene ice age, also known as the Last Glaciation Maximum, produced a substantial decrease in UV radiation in the sky, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Due to this, the amount of melanin in the skin was reduced, and genetic characteristics were altered, resulting in the formation of fair-skinned people in cold climates and intermediate colours (ranging from fair to brown tones) in temperate regions. The amount of melanin in a person’s skin determines their skin colour.
Gene mutations led to the development of persons with brown skin. The majority of the natural differences in skin pigmentation among south Asians can be attributed to polymorphisms in three genes, SLC24A5, TYR, and SLC45A2, which are connected to the amount of melanin in the skin. The MCIR gene is also reported to play a role in determining the colour of human skin and hair.
Human skin tone is stratified geographically and correlated with the amount of UV radiation in the environment. According to genetic studies, the Europeans and East Asians obtained their pale skin hues in various ways. With SLC24A5 and the blue-eyed version of OCA2 both genes indicating to considerable growth in frequency within the last 10,000 years, the evolution of the light skin predates the Ice Age.
By the time different coloured humans had evolved in various parts of the world, the majority of critical epochs in the history of humanity in terms of culture and civilization were post-Ice Age.
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