From ancient DNA results it seems as though northern europeans were tan-skinned as late as the mesolithic. They didnt need light skin because their diet was rich in vitamin D. They belonged almost exclusively to Hg I. Many of them had blue eyes but not red or blond hair. They might have inherited blue eyes from neanderthals. We know that neanderthals hunted in low-light conditions and light eyes would have improved their vision in the dark.
The R1a people were in terms of autosomal composition mostly western hunter gatherers with some Karitiana-like admixture. During the last ice age they took refuge in the Ukraine where they developed several shades of blond hair as a result of sexual selection. They also developed pale skin either to produce more vitamin D or also as a result of sexual selection.
The R1b people coming from Mesopotamia/anatolia/gedrosia were among the first farmers and developed pale skin and red hair in response to a shift in diet to vitamin D poor foods. They entered the steppes via the Caucasus and took wives from the R1a people already living there. This explains the high incedence of blue eyes and blonde hair among R1b people today. They were excellent metal workers. Probably the best in the world at that time.
R1a and R1b propogated pale skin into europe in the neolithic. Almost all of the blue eyes in europe today come from north of the black sea though this is probably not where it originated as 8000 year old western hunter gatherers already had blue eyes.
The R1a people were in terms of autosomal composition mostly western hunter gatherers with some Karitiana-like admixture. During the last ice age they took refuge in the Ukraine where they developed several shades of blond hair as a result of sexual selection. They also developed pale skin either to produce more vitamin D or also as a result of sexual selection.
The R1b people coming from Mesopotamia/anatolia/gedrosia were among the first farmers and developed pale skin and red hair in response to a shift in diet to vitamin D poor foods. They entered the steppes via the Caucasus and took wives from the R1a people already living there. This explains the high incedence of blue eyes and blonde hair among R1b people today. They were excellent metal workers. Probably the best in the world at that time.
R1a and R1b propogated pale skin into europe in the neolithic. Almost all of the blue eyes in europe today come from north of the black sea though this is probably not where it originated as 8000 year old western hunter gatherers already had blue eyes.