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I'm asking this partly out of anthropological curiosity, but also because a hobby of mine is fantasy world-building which includes designing fictional "races" or cultures of humankind. What kind of environment would select for the very darkest skin tones in humanity?
I'm leaning towards tropical savanna at the moment. Supposedly the equatorial latitudes receive the highest UV radiation, but they're commonly covered with rainforests that would shelter people from the sun with their treetop canopies. That's probably why Central African "pygmy" peoples have been described as lighter-skinned than Bantu-speaking populations who migrated to the same area from savanna areas to the north. On the other hand, since savannas have more open terrain and less rainy weather, people living there would receive more sunlight and therefore evolve the darkest skin.
What are your guys' thoughts on this?
xyyman Member # 13597
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Good question…..I think. When you look at the ACTUAL distribution of skin pigmentation in the globe sometimes pigmentation do NOT mimic latitude. The darkest people on the planet are South Asians Islanders and some Sudanese populations. Surprisingly it is not Bantu West Africans which is a common misconception.
Tishkoff and Norton speculated that “pigmentation” took place NOT in the tropical belt. But in the sub-tropical region ie African Savanna. And penetration into the forest is relatively recent.
Swenet Member # 17303
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Already covered by the Jablonski 2015(?) paper we discussed, if I remember it correctly. See her map(s).
BlessedbyHorus Member # 22000
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I agree with OP with tropical Savannah. IIRC that's the same environment that South Sudan is in and they are among the darkest people I saw.
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