Nina Jablonski on the Evolution of Skin Color

Your Family May Once Have Been A Different Color

Paleontologist and primatologist Nina Jablonski gives a lively, concise explanation of the evolution of skin color. Listen to this as you study for the exam!


And, for a more in depth explanation, watch the video:

Nina Jablonski breaks the illusion of skin color

"Why you should listen to her:

"Much of what we consider our humanity is imbued in our skin," Nina Jablonski tells us. This insight came to her in 1981, as she observed a jittery anatomy class warm to a cadaver only after cutting through its skin. As it turns out, marvels abound of this sweaty, hardwearing, social -- and underappreciated -- organ. Many are collected in her book, Skin: A Natural History, a look at what makes our skin unique and, perhaps, more important than we realize.

Nina Jablonski says that differing skin colors are simply our bodies' adaptation to varied climates and levels of UV exposure. Charles Darwin disagreed with this theory, but she explains, that's because he did not have access to NASA."