I remember reading a story once that said we all come from Africa and that white people are nothing more than a genetic mutation. I wonder what would happen if black albinos were to all stick together and to try to get away and form a new group. Would all of the people stay white or if they interbred would they all stay white? I always felt that nationalities look they way they do because they interbred many years ago and all are related from a long time ago. Please put in your two cents.

Originally posted by Growling Lion
I remember reading a story once that said we all come from Africa and that white people are nothing more than a genetic mutation.

No portion of humanity is 'nothing more than a genetic mutation'. White skin is an adaptation to a particular set of conditions, specifically its thought that 'white' skin is better able to absrod and make use of sunlight in the cloudy environments of europe/asia what have you.

I wonder what would happen if black albinos

A 'black albino' would be a person without the ability to manufactur the one human skin pigment, melanin. Blacks, whites, asians, brazilians and australians and indians and fijians all produce melanin to have whatever colour their skin happens to be. The idea of a 'black albino' tho is quite interesting, I'm not even sure if albinism is something that occurs in 'african' populations.

I always felt that nationalities look they way they do because they interbred many years ago and all are related from a long time ago. Please put in your two cents.

Darwin's idea on the differences between races is, I think generally accepted as being wrong, but I think its the most interesting. Basically he hypothesised that the differences were maintained by sexual selection, ie the different groups of people had different perceptions of beauty, for whatever teh cultural/etc reasons. The application of these different preferences lead to the modern differences.

I wonder what would happen if black albinos were to all stick together and to try to get away and form a new group. Would all of the people stay white or if they interbred would they all stay white?

Looked a little:

Recent research has used analysis of DNA, the chemical which encodes genetic information, to arrive at a more firm classification system for albinism. Type 1 albinism (also called tyrosinase-related albinism) is the type involving almost no pigmentation. Type 1 albinism results from a genetic defect in an enzyme called tyrosinase. This enzyme helps the body to change the amino acid tyrosine into pigment. (An amino acid is a "building block" of protein, and comes from protein in the diet.) Type 2, a type with slight pigmentation, results from a defect in a different gene called the "P" gene.

Albinism is a recessive mutation, meaning both parents have to be carriers. And yes "black people" can have albinism, though they are still distinguishibly different from caucasians. If a community of albinos were to form, yes all of their children would be albinos except in vary rare cases in which a spontaneous mutation occured to revert the deffective gene back to a healthy gene...very rare.

Hope this helps

No, all cultures of people are velnerable to albinoism, which is the lack of melanin.

I thought When we first started to loose our fur that underneath it the skin was white but then turned black to be better suited for Africa and then when people went to europe it turned back to white. I could be wrong though.

According to the research, we started in Africa, then branched out, so white skin would have been a later development, as would lighter hair, as we entered colder climes (which is why even today it is predominant in cooler climates).

While its most likely that modern humans originated in africa, there is no tellingwhat 'colour' their skin was. Gorillas, for example, tend to have very dark skin. Chimps, tend to have pinkish skin, even tho they are in the tropics. For my own part, I would doubt that the first populations were particularly pale skinned. However, just how 'dark' is an intersting question. The Bantu tribes in western coastal africa are significantly different than, say, the 'bushmen' of the kalihari. So while I doubt that the first members of sapiens were blonde hair blue eyed swedes, there isn't too much more that can be said beyond that.

I'm just trying to make the technical point that just because one population is in a placenow, doesn't mean that its allways been that way. Or put another way, there is nothing to suggest that any characters held by 'blacks' are 'primitive', even if its the rather unloaded idea of skin 'colour'.

I've read that skin color of not been primary racial difference, like blood group and bones structure are primary difference in selection of it. For example arabs and indian* are white race, although their skin color is not so white as in northern people.
Skin color everyone consider to be basic characteristic of races, but maybe language groups should be more important because it is somehow more proper. What do you think it is just wild guess for now. Whoever is better in this please post.
*India indian not american Indian

Its just that i saw on that show on the discovery channel a year ago and they used white acters in the first africans so i got confusd

Im not one ... but i can very easily turn into one...specially when the sun is high !

perhaps its people, humans that are the mutants !

you've heard of phrase 'Naked Ape'??

theres a theory that humans are young, undeveloped simians and
survived and flourished over time.

something to thimk about,
eh? why'd they make all those Planet of the Apes movies, in the '70s

-> because its pausable, or at least engaging...

Originally posted by Gazrok
According to the research, we started in Africa, then branched out, so white skin would have been a later development, as would lighter hair, as we entered colder climes (which is why even today it is predominant in cooler climates).

Although I agree that white skin was a "later development" due to different environmental factors, I have to wonder how you would explain the Eskimos remaining brown with black hair? The Eskimos are obviously "older" than the whites.... :-?

If Eskimos are really brown then we're stuck in this...
Color skin has then never with sunlight explanation...
But somehow people are darker with lower geographic width and vice versa.
Better is too ask what is the meaning of racial differences, it has to be some good reason.
Those migration theories are fishy, because it is not likely for people to migrate so far. Those theories we all originate from one are also at least nonsensical.
It is too much bible like story.
It is most probable to having few races on different locations.
Races didn't mingle alot till recently, that' a fact.

to embrionic matter:

culture theory is ok, but it is like a outer foil of it, culture sure does connect with race, if races are too exist, but there are different races.
If we look by inner selves these races produce different cultures, because races have different subconscious then!
What about that, I can say location is a good point in your link. Location somehow is realted with it, I said races didn't interact a lot till some couple of centuries ago.
Marco Polo, Magelan etc. Before them races were isolated islands.
Yes or no?

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[edit on 10-12-2004 by Chakotay]

I think the "we all came from Africa" theory is a bunch of crap. Why would anyone want to leave a beautiful fruitful garden of eden like enviorment travel over the countless miles of desert and keep going north into a colder enviorment that their skin was too dark to keep warm in?

I see it the other way around... maybe we all started in CHINA ... there are Billions of people in that part of the world. Some people would have traveled north, south, east, and west. From China one could go any direction. Each "clan" would have developed their own unique traits depending on which direction that they went.

The Africa theory says that everyone traveled north in small groups. That means that their was one major group and then every so often a small group would break away and travel north...well that would mean that we all would have similar traits since each group that left africa would have been a part of the major group.


I just think that it makes more sense for humanity to desire to be in a warm green climate. Not to leave one and go walk through a desert. who would do that???

Are white people mutants? Well I heard different theories. One is that after 50,000 to 60,000 years, a group of black people that had moved to a northern darker climate would become white and visa versa for white people moving south to a sunnier tropical climate.

Another theory since this is a site for aliens, conspiracies etc. is that there is a group of white blonde haired aliens that very much resemble white humans although the aliens are taller in general. At least that is what I heard or read somewhere. I certainly can't prove that one. What if an alien space ship full of the white humans crashed in South America many thousands of years ago and their descendants mated with the neatherthals? Of course that would only lead to more questions because if white humans have alien ancestry than black humans must also because we are the same species.

The climate and amount of sunlight after thousands of years appears to be a more logical explanation though.

Well, as some would have it, we're actually only a social construct...

Although I agree that white skin was a "later development" due to different environmental factors, I have to wonder how you would explain the Eskimos remaining brown with black hair? The Eskimos are obviously "older" than the whites.... :-?

Eskimos eat large amounts of fish liver oil which contains vitamin D.
Light skinned people can easily absorb vitamin D while darker skinned
people do not. Vitamin D is absorbed from sunlight or the foods we eat.