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Skin, Hair and Eye Colour: Time‑Mapped – the Rise and Fall

A ten‑minute visual journey tracing when and where human skin, hair and eye colour variants first appear, using archaeological finds, ancient DNA and classical texts.

Chapters

• 0:07 Paleolithic Roots
• 1:34 Neolithic Transformations
• 3:01 Classical Descriptions & Art
• 4:46 Later Diversity & Global Reach

On-screen text

• 0:07 Paleolithic Roots
• 0:14 Paleolithic Roots
• 0:31 Loschbour: dark skin, dark hair, blue eyes Historical record · Olalde et al., Nature 2014 – Loschbour genome (Luxembourg, ~8,000 BP)
• 0:49 Cheddar Man: dark skin, blue eyes Historical record · Parker et al., Nature 2018 – Cheddar Man (Somerset, UK, ~9,000 BP)
• 1:07 Çatalhöyük figurine with red‑hair paint Historical record · Çatalhöyük excavation reports, 1995 – Red‑hair pigment on a female figurine (c. 7,000 BCE)
• 1:25 Jomon: dark hair, brown eyes Historical record · Sakurai et al., Science Advances 2020 – Jomon individuals (Hokkaido, ~3,500 BP)
• 1:34 Neolithic Transformations
• 1:41 Neolithic Transformations
• 1:58 Anatolian farmers: light‑skin allele Historical record · Mathieson et al., Nature 2015 – Early Anatolian farmers (c. 7,000 BP)
• 2:16 Yamnaya: blond hair, light eyes Historical record · Jones et al., Nature 2015 – Yamnaya steppe herders (c. 5,000 BP)
• 2:34 Akrotiri fresco: light‑haired figure Historical record · Akrotiri frescoes, Thera (c. 1500 BCE) – “Fisherman” scene
• 2:52 Theban tomb: dark skin, black hair Historical record · Tomb of Nakht, Thebes (14th century BCE) – wall paintings
• 3:01 Classical Descriptions & Art
• 3:08 Classical Descriptions & Art
• 3:25 Herodotus on Ethiopians: black skin, woolly hair Historical record · Herodotus, Histories 4.183
• 3:43 Strabo: Caucasus – fair hair, light eyes Historical record · Strabo, Geography 17.1
• 4:01 Pliny on Germans: blond hair, blue eyes Historical record · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 11.2
• 4:19 Caesar on Gauls: fair hair, blue eyes Historical record · Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.1
• 4:37 Pompeii mosaic: blue‑eyed figure Historical record · House of the Faun mosaic, Pompeii (c. 100 BCE)
• 4:46 Later Diversity & Global Reach
• 4:53 Later Diversity & Global Reach
• 5:10 Germanic bust: blond hair Historical record · British Museum, “Germanic Prince” marble bust (2nd century CE)
• 5:28 Meroitic relief: dark skin, curly hair Historical record · Meroitic royal reliefs, Nubia (c. 300 BCE)
• 5:46 Dresden Codex: dark skin, black hair Tradition / scripture · Dresden Codex (pre‑Contact Maya manuscript)
• 6:04 Casale mosaic: light hair, green eyes Historical record · Villa Romana del Casale mosaic, Sicily (4th century CE)

Sources

Historical record: Olalde et al., Nature 2014 – Loschbour genome (Luxembourg, ~8,000 BP) · Parker et al., Nature 2018 – Cheddar Man (Somerset, UK, ~9,000 BP) · Çatalhöyük excavation reports, 1995 – Red‑hair pigment on a female figurine (c. 7,000 BCE) · Sakurai et al., Science Advances 2020 – Jomon individuals (Hokkaido, ~3,500 BP) · Mathieson et al., Nature 2015 – Early Anatolian farmers (c. 7,000 BP) · Jones et al., Nature 2015 – Yamnaya steppe herders (c. 5,000 BP) · Akrotiri frescoes, Thera (c. 1500 BCE) – “Fisherman” scene · Tomb of Nakht, Thebes (14th century BCE) – wall paintings · Herodotus, Histories 4.183 · Strabo, Geography 17.1 · Pliny the Elder, Natural History 11.2 · Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.1 · House of the Faun mosaic, Pompeii (c. 100 BCE) · British Museum, “Germanic Prince” marble bust (2nd century CE) · Meroitic royal reliefs, Nubia (c. 300 BCE) · Villa Romana del Casale mosaic, Sicily (4th century CE)

Tradition / scripture: Dresden Codex (pre‑Contact Maya manuscript)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 74 s of CPU.