Surprising origin of Irish fair skin (far away from Ireland)
Irish fair skin, freckles and red hair may be a bit of an overstated cliché but there’s no doubt we are on the paler side of average when it comes to complexion.
Traditionally this has been put down to the lack of sunshine and the colder climate that comes with being part of northern Europe, on the edge of the Atlantic. The rain doesn’t help either.
Now scientists believe there may be a more dramatic explanation – that our pale appearance is inherited from just one man who lived 10,000 years ago.
What makes the theory more surprising is that this man came from a warmer climate, thousands of miles away from Ireland.
The theory has been put forward by scientists at Pennsylvania University who have been studying different skin pigmentations, and the genes that cause them.
Credit to : Ireland Calling