health

Human skin stood up better to the sun before there were sunscreens and parasols, says expert

9 Comments
By Nina G. Jablonski

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Homo sapiens spent the bulk of our prehistory and history outside, mostly naked.

And died before they were 30, little time for cancers to develop, short brutish lives full of fear and death are hardly proof of his contention. Additionaly those distant ancestors didnt have skin adapted to reduced sunlight.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

We went to a museum in Tarquinia, Tuscany, Italy, where we saw a 2,800 year old parasol. Blew my mind.

There is an expression, "Nothing is new under the sun." Not sure about that, but parasols have been around for a long time.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The subject of humans' adaptation to varying amounts of sunlight is very, very interesting. From what I have read, people with "white" skin have been around for only 5,000 years, or less, and white skin is purely an adaptation to living in higher latitudes. A DNA analysis of a 6,000 years dead young woman found in a bog in Denmark determined that while she had blue eyes - another adaptation to high latitudes - her skin color was still dark.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Even if you’re naturally darkly pigmented or capable of tanning, everyone is susceptible to damage caused by episodes of sun exposure, especially after long breaks spent completely out of the sun. The “vacation effect” of sudden strong UV exposure is really bad because a sunburn signals damage to the skin that is never completely repaired. It’s like a bad debt that presents itself as prematurely aged or precancerous skin many years later. There is no healthy tan – a tan doesn’t protect you from further sun damage, it’s the sign of damage itself.

Simple, prehistoric "humans" were originally darker because they came from Africa. Africans are the original humans. All humans are descendant from Africa. Research has shown that most peoples from Europe and Asia have part Neanderthal in their genetic make-up. Neanderthals and modern humans are not completely the same. Africa is the only place where you can find 100% humans. This article is clearly discussing an issue mostly affecting Europeans and some Asians.

What this article fails to mention is the life span of a star. Over the lifespan of a star (the Sun), the heat intensifies and temperature increases until it burns out. This also affects the temperature of the planet and its ability to block dangerous rays. So, yes modern technology has made some humans less resistant to the natural elements. However, with climate change, it was going to happen anyway.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Weird how skin cancer is more common now than before given supposed improvements in medicine etc

More common now than in the ancient prehistoric times of 1976? the 70s already had a lot of improvements in medicine. And the further improvements have done a lot to increase the survival for the patients, it is not like people keep dying in the same rates (something described even in your own source).

The increase in cases is hardly a mystery and has quite clear caused related to human changes in behavior and environmental factors.

As ozone levels are depleted, the atmosphere loses more and more of its protective filter function and more solar UV radiation reaches the Earth's surface. It is estimated that a 10 per cent decrease in ozone levels will result in an additional 300,000 non-melanoma and 4,500 melanoma skin cancer cases. The global incidence of melanoma continues to increase – however, the main factors that predispose to the development of melanoma seem to be connected with recreational exposure to the sun and a history of sunburn. These factors lie within each individual's own responsibility

https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-ultraviolet-(uv)-radiation-and-skin-cancer

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Weird how skin cancer is more common now than before given supposed improvements in medicine etc

But the link you provided says that rates are declining in younger people (under 30s). Should we be surprised that as people live longer, cancer rates in general will increase among the older population?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"My research on the evolution of human skin pigmentation has shown that the skin color of people in prehistory was tuned to local environmental conditions"

We already knew this. Nothing in this article is new or novel about people adapting to their local environment or in regards to our ancestral exposure UV and skin cancer

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Just don’t go out in the midday sun, unless English.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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