Origin of blonde hair in Neolithic farmers.

[jose luis]

I don't know statistics on the subject, but throughout my life, I've noticed that children are always blonder than their parents. There is the extreme case of the afros of the Solomon Islands:

The Island Of The Blond Children, https://medium.com/@Gertech/the-island-of-the-blond-children-796c0b0c7781

Regarding the influence of food: Vegetable oils stimulate hair growth. Sesame oil has hair darkening properties. I am convinced that the jet-black hair color of the Japanese and other peoples is due, in part, to the use of sesame oil in their food.

 

[MOESAN]

An opinion found on the 'net' - what accuracy for thes diverse claims?
[...
[h=3]Q1: Can sesame seed oil darken hair colour?[/h] Though there have been claims that sesame seed oil can help darken hair colour, scientific evidence supporting this claim is limited. Hair colour depends on genetics, so while some factors can affect your hair colour but the change won’t be significant.
...]

 

[ThirdTerm]

One locus called rs387907171 SNP in the TYRP1 gene, can explain a small proportion of hair pigmentation in the Solomon Islands (26%). It is a homegrown genetic variant distinct from the genes that lead to blond hair in Europeans. These pigmentation genes affect the production of melanin. There are two types of melanin: black to brown eumelanin and yellow to reddish-brown pheomelanin. The amount of melanin increases with age, which causes the age-dependent darkening of hair color. This is also observed in the Japanese population.

Blond hair is a rare human phenotype found almost exclusively in Europe and Oceania. Here, we identify a cystine-to-arginine change at a highly conserved residue in tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) as the single source of blond hair in Solomon Islanders. This missense mutation is predicted to impact catalytic activity of the protein and causes blond hair through a recessive mode of inheritance. The novel mutation is at a frequency of 26% in the Solomon Islands but is absent outside of Oceania and represents the largest genetic effect on a visible human phenotype reported to date.

Further, adjusting for sex and geography, hair color for 93C homozygotes (i.e. blonds) was not seen to darken significantly with age (R2 = 0.013, P = 0.187), whereas darkening was observed in heterozygotes (R2 = 0.026, P = 0.0017) and 93R homozygotes (R2 = 0.031, P = 0.0004).

The frequency of the 93C allele in the Solomon Islands is 0.26. To determine the worldwide distribution of the 93C allele, we genotyped the R93C SNP in 941 individuals from the 52 populations in the CEPH-HGDP (22). Three 93C homozygous individuals were found in our cohort who reported that one of their parents came from outside the Solomon Islands: two individuals each with a parent from Fiji and one individual with a parent from New Guinea. Together, these observations suggest that the 93C allele is restricted to the Pacific and that the unique genetic mechanism causing blond hair in Solomon Islanders is shared with neighboring populations with the blond hair phenotype (5).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3481182/

 

[MOESAN]

@ThidTherm
This distinct Oceanian mutation for blond had been discussed already in other threads, but it seems you provide more details.

 

[jose luis]

An opinion found on the 'net' - what accuracy for thes diverse claims?
[...
Q1: Can sesame seed oil darken hair colour?

Though there have been claims that sesame seed oil can help darken hair colour, scientific evidence supporting this claim is limited. Hair colour depends on genetics, so while some factors can affect your hair colour but the change won’t be significant.
...]

You're right. About sesame, instead of making a claim, I should have written " Traditions, such as traditional Chinese medicine, claim that...".
Another of my personal observations is that people get lighter hair after a beach vacation, perhaps due to the sun, and the salt that remains in the hair after swimming in the sea.

 

[Anfänger]

You're right. About sesame, instead of making a claim, I should have written " Traditions, such as traditional Chinese medicine, claim that...".
Another of my personal observations is that people get lighter hair after a beach vacation, perhaps due to the sun, and the salt that remains in the hair after swimming in the sea.

Hair color lightens after long exposure to the sun, it’s called hair photobleaching. Nothing to do with salt though.

 

[jose luis]

"Can sea salt make hair lighter?

Yes, sea salt can make hair lighter. Sea salt is hygroscopic, which means it attracts water. When sea salt comes into contact with hair, it attracts the moisture from the hair and scalp. This can make the hair dry and brittle, which can reveal the hair's natural lighter color. Additionally, sea salt can open the hair cuticles, which can make the hair absorb more UV radiation from the sun. UV radiation can damage the melanin in the hair, which is the pigment that gives hair its color. This can also make the hair lighter."



What is it that can really strongly change hair color?

Here are some factors that can strongly change hair color:

• Genetics: Your genes are the most important factor in determining your hair color. If your parents have dark hair, you are more likely to have dark hair. However, there are also some genes that can cause hair to become lighter over time.

• Age: As you age, your hair production slows down and the amount of melanin in your hair decreases. This can cause your hair to become lighter or even gray.

• Sun exposure: Sun exposure can damage the melanin in your hair, which can cause it to become lighter.

• Smoking: Smoking can damage the hair follicles, which can cause hair to become lighter or even fall out.

• Certain medications: Some medications, such as chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics, can also cause hair to become lighter or even fall out.

• Stress: Stress can also cause hair to become lighter or even fall out.

• Hormonal changes: Hormonal changes, such as those that occur during pregnancy or menopause, can also affect hair color."



Google Bard

 

[torzio]

"Can sea salt make hair lighter?

Yes, sea salt can make hair lighter. Sea salt is hygroscopic, which means it attracts water. When sea salt comes into contact with hair, it attracts the moisture from the hair and scalp. This can make the hair dry and brittle, which can reveal the hair's natural lighter color. Additionally, sea salt can open the hair cuticles, which can make the hair absorb more UV radiation from the sun. UV radiation can damage the melanin in the hair, which is the pigment that gives hair its color. This can also make the hair lighter."



What is it that can really strongly change hair color?

Here are some factors that can strongly change hair color:

• Genetics: Your genes are the most important factor in determining your hair color. If your parents have dark hair, you are more likely to have dark hair. However, there are also some genes that can cause hair to become lighter over time.

• Age: As you age, your hair production slows down and the amount of melanin in your hair decreases. This can cause your hair to become lighter or even gray.

• Sun exposure: Sun exposure can damage the melanin in your hair, which can cause it to become lighter.

• Smoking: Smoking can damage the hair follicles, which can cause hair to become lighter or even fall out.

• Certain medications: Some medications, such as chemotherapy drugs and antibiotics, can also cause hair to become lighter or even fall out.

• Stress: Stress can also cause hair to become lighter or even fall out.

• Hormonal changes: Hormonal changes, such as those that occur during pregnancy or menopause, can also affect hair color."



Google Bard

When I was younger and surfed .............we all put lemon juice in our hair and within a few hours in the sun our hair lighted a lot ,,,,,,,,,,,,,known as Lemonheads

 

[American]

I had platinum blond hair when I was a baby, and it has gradually darkened like in most people. Since adolescence it is a very dark blond shade, almost brown, but it becomes more clearly blond if I spend enough time in the sun (which I try not to do because of my skin) or get it cut short. The lady who cuts my hair assures me it is blond, even if it's hard to tell sometimes. I have Type I skin, very pale but not pinkish/Celtic-like, and brown eyes. I have a mix of Northern European and Mediterranean ancestry. According to one calculator I used I'm about equal parts WHG and EEF, and <10% ANE.

I've read about blond Neolithic farmers and Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers, and that blond hair is alternatively from Neolithic farmers or from Eastern Hunter-Gatherers. This paper on Estonians ("Ancestral genomic contributions to complex traits in contemporary Europeans"), who have very high Steppe and WHG admixture, finds Anatolian-like admixture to be correlated with SNPs for blond hair. I'm not clear on whether blond hair is SHG or Neolithic in origin; maybe it's both separately?

Anecdotally, I usually notice blond hair to come with traits I would associate with the Neolithic farmers in Northern/Central/Eastern Europe. Most of the N. Euro people I see with really EHG-like traits are usually dark-haired. According to the paper WHG admixture accompanies blue eyes and intermediate/brunette hair which makes sense.

 

[MOESAN]

I had platinum blond hair when I was a baby, and it has gradually darkened like in most people. Since adolescence it is a very dark blond shade, almost brown, but it becomes more clearly blond if I spend enough time in the sun (which I try not to do because of my skin) or get it cut short. The lady who cuts my hair assures me it is blond, even if it's hard to tell sometimes. I have Type I skin, very pale but not pinkish/Celtic-like, and brown eyes. I have a mix of Northern European and Mediterranean ancestry. According to one calculator I used I'm about equal parts WHG and EEF, and <10% ANE.

I've read about blond Neolithic farmers and Scandinavian Hunter-Gatherers, and that blond hair is alternatively from Neolithic farmers or from Eastern Hunter-Gatherers. This paper on Estonians ("Ancestral genomic contributions to complex traits in contemporary Europeans"), who have very high Steppe and WHG admixture, finds Anatolian-like admixture to be correlated with SNPs for blond hair. I'm not clear on whether blond hair is SHG or Neolithic in origin; maybe it's both separately?

Anecdotally, I usually notice blond hair to come with traits I would associate with the Neolithic farmers in Northern/Central/Eastern Europe. Most of the N. Euro people I see with really EHG-like traits are usually dark-haired. According to the paper WHG admixture accompanies blue eyes and intermediate/brunette hair which makes sense.

Even EEF people of Anatolian origin had very few blond SNP's. And after some generations of admixture, the different genes are for a part swaped one origin against another so I understand hardly what could be "Anatolian-like admixture correlated with SNPs for blond hair". Except if they find long chromosomes segments where other SNPs considered as of Anatolian origin was associated statistically with blond hair SNP. I aviw I only crossread this survey so maybe they found this?

 

[Friesday]

From Eastern Hunter Gatherer/ANE?

 

[MOESAN]

Yes and even when we have a precise qualification, nowadays this is used for hair colors with even combination of three numbers....

But even then it stays a matter of the eye of the beholder, I always thought I was dark blonde, but my hairdresser says no its medium blonde....(called it 8).



So let alone qualifications based on snp's....

Sorry I passed over this post.
In "my classifications",I take only the first three darkest and lightest hues as 'dark' and 'light' hair, just to know what I speak of as a whole. When I speak of 'very light brown' of the Anglo-Saxons, I think in the 'medium blond' of this chart, the most common hair hue among western blonds (Germanics but even more Celts). This aside this very topic, sorry.

 

[Northener]

Sorry I passed over this post.
In "my classifications",I take only the first three darkest and lightest hues as 'dark' and 'light' hair, just to know what I speak of as a whole. When I speak of 'very light brown' of the Anglo-Saxons, I think in the 'medium blond' of this chart, the most common hair hue among western blonds (Germanics but even more Celts). This aside this very topic, sorry.

With regard to the topic it's clear that with regard to KITLG SNP rs12821256 -nowadays seen as the main factor causing blond hair among Europeans- ANE has hitherto the oldest cards.

A nice overview from wiki:


But is this the unisono source? We still have this from genetiker, Greece Neolithic:

But we don't know because it's not mentioned if this is related to KITLG SNP rs12821256.

Besides that I think we also must take in account the hues. Shortly: there is a difference between ash blond- in fact just depigmented brown hair- and I guess related to KITLG SNP rs12821256 and we have warm blond hair, more related to reddish hair, associated with MC1R variants for example (most prominent?) with R160W Arg160Trp SNP rs1805008. This comes together with high skin cancer risk. Maciamo already figured out that 45th parallel seems to be a kind of natural boundary for red hair in Europe. Most probably connected with the UV rates....For this SNP mutation we most probably don't have multiple sources, it's very obvious Steppe(/ANE) related: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15p7MiR1UIsy8ySAbTKX-ju07Zhx3cPIroEmJmedeFvw/edit#gid=0

With regard to the sideline western blonds the following paper Bochao D. Lin et al (2016) could be interesting, for the Dutch regions that received an 'Anglo-Saxon' (Friesland/ Groningen/ Drenthe) introjection had twice as much blond hair as Frankish/'Gallo-Roman' Limburg and Brabant:



Nevertheless partly this obviously stays in the eye of the beholder because: 'When I speak of 'very light brown' of the Anglo-Saxons, I think in the 'medium blond' of this chart, the most common hair hue among western blonds (Germanics but even more Celts).' I think in the paper just mentioned they took medium blond of the chart (nr 8) not as 'very light brown'.....so it all stays 'tricky business'.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/serv...enetic_overlap_between_hair_and_eye_color.pdf

 

[Anfänger]

With regard to the topic it's clear that with regard to KITLG SNP rs12821256 -nowadays seen as the main factor causing blond hair among Europeans- ANE has hitherto the oldest cards.

A nice overview from wiki:


But is this the unisono source? We still have this from genetiker, Greece Neolithic:

But we don't know because it's not mentioned if this is related to KITLG SNP rs12821256.

Besides that I think we also must take in account the hues. Shortly: there is a difference between ash blond- in fact just depigmented brown hair- and I guess related to KITLG SNP rs12821256 and we have warm blond hair, more related to reddish hair, associated with MC1R variants for example (most prominent?) with R160W Arg160Trp SNP rs1805008. This comes together with high skin cancer risk. Maciamo already figured out that 45th parallel seems to be a kind of natural boundary for red hair in Europe. Most probably connected with the UV rates....For this SNP mutation we most probably don't have multiple sources, it's very obvious Steppe(/ANE) related: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15p7MiR1UIsy8ySAbTKX-ju07Zhx3cPIroEmJmedeFvw/edit#gid=0

With regard to the sideline western blonds the following paper Bochao D. Lin et al (2016) could be interesting, for the Dutch regions that received an 'Anglo-Saxon' (Friesland/ Groningen/ Drenthe) introjection had twice as much blond hair as Frankish/'Gallo-Roman' Limburg and Brabant:



Nevertheless partly this obviously stays in the eye of the beholder because: 'When I speak of 'very light brown' of the Anglo-Saxons, I think in the 'medium blond' of this chart, the most common hair hue among western blonds (Germanics but even more Celts).' I think in the paper just mentioned they took medium blond of the chart (nr 8) not as 'very light brown'.....so it all stays 'tricky business'.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/serv...enetic_overlap_between_hair_and_eye_color.pdf

The KITLG SNP has a frequency of ~20% in Scandinavia, on its own it’s impossible to be responsible for blonde hair in populations. It has a lighting effect but someone can have dark hair with this SNP if other SNPs darken the hair. Check previous post there you can see that blonde hair was already present in Anatolia and Greece in the Neolithic(southern arc supplements).

 

[Angela]

The KITLG SNP has a frequency of ~20% in Scandinavia, on its own it’s impossible to be responsible for blonde hair in populations. It has a lighting effect but someone can have dark hair with this SNP if other SNPs darken the hair. Check previous post there you can see that blonde hair was already present in Anatolia and Greece in the Neolithic(southern arc supplements).

True. In addition, the Wiki chart is, as usual, incorrect. To the best of my recollection, the vast majority of EEF only had SLC 24A5, not SLC42A5. Furthermore, if those two snps are responsible for the vast majority of depigmentation, and originated in the Near East, how did EHG get light/intermediate skin? There would have to be a migration north, yes?

 

[Anfänger]

True. In addition, the Wiki chart is, as usual, incorrect. To the best of my recollection, the vast majority of EEF only had SLC 24A5, not SLC42A5. Furthermore, if those two snps are responsible for the vast majority of depigmentation, and originated in the Near East, how did EHG get light/intermediate skin? There would have to be a migration north, yes?

Yes, the chart is indeed incorrect. It also places the origin of blue eyes into the Near East, I don't think this is very likely.

Concerning skin depigmentation, the big question is not where the SNPs originated (probably Near East) but when. There is a paucity of pre-neolithic samples to really determine when it arose but most EHG samples have a minor CHG component and there is J1 in Karelia very early on. I think a migration North is very likely but I am still uncertain when it happened.

 

[Northener]

The KITLG SNP has a frequency of ~20% in Scandinavia, on its own it’s impossible to be responsible for blonde hair in populations. It has a lighting effect but someone can have dark hair with this SNP if other SNPs darken the hair. Check previous post there you can see that blonde hair was already present in Anatolia and Greece in the Neolithic(southern arc supplements).

The KITLG SNP is may be not the only factor but certainly a major factor in getting blond in especially the European case.

Guenther et al (2014):

The rs12821256 variant alters an enhancer that is active specifically in the hair follicle environment, providing a simple genetic explanation for previous observations that this SNP is associated with changes in hair pigmentation but not eye pigmentation in northern Europeans.

and more info:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4704868/

The effect is quit huge:


What is the source of the percentage in Scandinavia is this CC and CT? We already see that CEU -although CC is very rare 0.9%- which is kind Central (West) European ancestry the sum is already 28%.



It would surprise me if the Scandics get lower percentages.

I posted also a link to Neolitic Greece, but I wonder if this is rs12821256 related....

But as said we must also take in account the reddish hue, especially in the case of 'warm blond'. Already Tacitus spoke about the reddish hue of the Germanics. And Maciamo: "Red-haired is therefore most associated with the continental West Germanic peoples, and least with Scandinavians and Germanic tribes that originated in Sweden, like the Goths and the Vandals. This also explains why the Anglo-Saxon settlements on southern England have a higher frequency of redheads than the Scandinavian settlements of northeast England." Imo blond hair with warm-so red undertone- is also an Anglo-Saxon feature (kind of logical consequence of Maciamo's reasoning).

I guess that red hair MC1R could have been from the same ANE source as the KITLG, we see also a link with distant ANE derived Tarim Mummies (prevalence of red hair and green eyes, both pheomelanin related!).

In my private case my hair color represents this all very well (Anglo-Saxon related ancestry), YourDNA portal gives a nice insight:
Two copies of 'blond' KITLG and one MC1R, gives blond hair with slight red undertone.

 

[Anfänger]

@Northener

Yes, it's one of the main SNPs responsible for blonde hair but like I said there are many more and you can even have dark hair which is probably the case for the Yamnaya individuals they turn out dark brown when you use HIrisPlex. Hair colour compared to skin or eye colour is very complicated and even the phenotype predictor gets it wrong sometimes (70-90% accuracy). Here is a very informative article on that study you posted: https://www.kqed.org/science/18076/...ve-a-small-part-of-the-mystery-of-blonde-hair

Somes quote from the article:

Given hair color’s complicated genetics, it shouldn’t be surprising that this DNA variant is not the whole story behind blonde hair. In other words, not everyone with the blonde version of rs12821526 has blonde hair.

The best hair color predictor out there right now looks at 24 different DNA variants and is right about 70-90% of the time, depending on the particular hair color. This is pretty good but it obviously isn’t perfect

The Scandinavian frequency is rounded (that's why "~" in OP) and it's from the same study you posted: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4704868/

Fig. 1B (enlarged):


There isn't much difference within European populations as you can see Central and Northern Europe are basically the same and it seems to peak in England. I do think that KITLG entered Europe with the Yamnaya/Corded ware migration though.

I think we have to take red and blonde hair separate because the genes involved for each colour are different (MC1R vs KITLG). I recall a recent study with red haired individuals from Neolithic France. I have to do more research on red hair when I am done will post it in this thread. Most of the Tarim mummies are possibly Andronovo/Sintashta/Corded ware migrants, therefore a remigration from Central Europe with EEF ancestry/GlobularAmpohra where they probably picked up these traits. Many mummies aren't from the Bronze Age but Iron Age. If I am not mistaken Germanics were/are the population with highest prevalence of blonde hair if we exclude the Finnish people.

Nevertheless, blonde hair was predicted to be in Neolithic Anatolia and surrounds and I highly doubt that they had the KITLG SNP because they lacked any ANE admixture. From the Southern Arc Supplementary material and a link to Philjames100 post earlier in this thread: https://www.eupedia.com/forum/threa...lithic-farmers?p=668834&viewfull=1#post668834

"Blond hair was present in the Neolithic of Anatolia (Turkey) at Barcın, Chalcolithic Southeastern Europe (Romania at Bodrogkeresztur), Chalcolithic of the Levant (Israel) [14.3%], and a Minoan from Lasithi."

http://Lazaridis et al. (2022) supplementary material, p.22-23

There is much more information about phenotype in the supplementary material of the Southern Arc.

 

[Northener]

I don't see much difference from what I have stated Anfänger. I never stated it is the only factor, still a major one. It enhances the chance of getting blond hair considerable (2* with one copy, 4*with two). And according to the paper:'A molecular basis for classic blond hair color in Europeans.'

And he earliest known individual with this allele is a female south-central Siberian ANE individual from the Afontova Gora 3 site, which is dated 17,000 ybp. Doesn't make all the Steppe influx unsino blond (by no means!), nevertheless this is hitherto the oldest sample. (= origin?).

I guess this is all pretty factual. And I'm curious about the alternative snp that caused blond hair among EEF: 'Neolithic Anatolia and surrounds and I highly doubt that they had the KITLG SNP because they lacked any ANE admixture.'

I disagree with you about MC1R. Because even with two copies you can still have blond hair:

MC1R only explains 73% of the SNP heritability for red hair in UK Biobank, and in fact most individuals with two MC1R variants have blonde or light brown hair.

(Morgan et al 2019).

For the warm blond hair (= blond with more or less reddish hue) that occurs a lot especially in Anglo-Saxons, so West-Germanic groups, these MC1R does play a part. I have no reason to assume that this is brought to Europe by EEF c.q. Anatolian Farmers because this SNP enhances the risk of getting skin cancer with 2.5* (with one copy) and even 7-10* (with two copies). And as always there are exceptions but this SNP in combination with the uv rates of the mediterranea looks not lucky to me.....

 

[Anfänger]

I don't see much difference from what I have stated Anfänger. I never stated it is the only factor, still a major one. It enhances the chance of getting blond hair considerable (2* with one copy, 4*with two). And according to the paper:'A molecular basis for classic blond hair color in Europeans.'

And he earliest known individual with this allele is a female south-central Siberian ANE individual from the Afontova Gora 3 site, which is dated 17,000 ybp. Doesn't make all the Steppe influx unsino blond (by no means!), nevertheless this is hitherto the oldest sample. (= origin?).

I see, we agree on most parts. There were 24 SNPs(2014), today there are even 42(!) according to 23andMe responsible for blonde hair and KITLG is one of them. What I don't quite understand is what does 2 or 4 times more likely mean in %, it sounds like 50% and 100% to me but this can't be true because only with this SNP it is impossible to be blonde if other SNPs darken the hair colour. I´ve also said that KITLG origin is in Steppe/ANE but that doesn't mean that blonde hair is which is the topic of this thread.

I guess this is all pretty factual. And I'm curious about the alternative snp that caused blond hair among EEF: 'Neolithic Anatolia and surrounds and I highly doubt that they had the KITLG SNP because they lacked any ANE admixture.'

Not just one SNP but possibly up to 42.

I disagree with you about MC1R. Because even with two copies you can still have blond hair:
(Morgan et al 2019).

For the warm blond hair (= blond with more or less reddish hue) that occurs a lot especially in Anglo-Saxons, so West-Germanic groups, these MC1R does play a part. I have no reason to assume that this is brought to Europe by EEF c.q. Anatolian Farmers because this SNP enhances the risk of getting skin cancer with 2.5* (with one copy) and even 7-10* (with two copies). And as always there are exceptions but this SNP in combination with the uv rates of the mediterranea looks not lucky to me.....

I not quite sure but isn't MC1R for red hair not blonde? At least according to 23andMe they are different and the report for red hair and blonde hair is separate. Of course you can have combination of both and blonde hair with reddish touch as a result. There are at least 3 SNPs tested by 23andMe for red hair all of them MC1R:



Btw, here is the study with red haired individuals from Neolithic France: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06350-8#MOESM4

There are a bunch of blue eyed, blonde and red haired individuals. Supplementary Tables 16 from the same study: