The ASSIGNMENT requires you to watch a video (Journey of Man) and answer 3 questions about the video. The video is about 2 hours long but very interesting! Download this Word file, type your answers (using 12 point font, single spaced) under the questions, save the file, and submit. (To Submit go back to the Course page Click ASSIGNMENT Unit 2 moduleupload the file with your answers, submit.)
Video: Journey of Man QUESTIONS
Questions:
1. Why were the early Europeans lightly-pigmented? (i.e. Whiter skinned than their African relatives?
Our African ancestors had a much darker skin pigment than our that European ancestors simply due to sun exposure. Our African ancestors lived in a much hotter climate where they also didn't wear much clothing, this meant their skin had to work to protect them from the harsh UV radiation of the sun. This meant they had a much larger supply of melanin, the body's natural sunscreen which accounts for the pigment that occurs in our skin.
As our ancestors inhabited Europe, a much colder climate, their skin had to adapt to new changes. With much less vitamin D is absorbed, their skin needed to lighten in order to allow for more sun exposure; therefore, allowing for more production of vitamin D. Although the coastal populations had a way of supplementing their vitamin D into their body; fish. This meant that they were able to maintain a bit more melanin in their skin...
