How Did Our Ancestors Survive the Cold Without Fur?
The ancestors of modern humans migrated out of Africa about 70,000 years ago. Thanks to Africa’s climate protecting humans from the cold caused by ice ages, our ancestors were able to “shed” their thick body hair to adapt to higher temperatures.
However, when they left Africa to migrate to colder regions, human ancestors changed their way of life, shifting from tribal hunting and gathering to agriculture and pastoralism with a simple social structure. These changes forced humans to adapt once again and ultimately decide their own evolutionary path.
Nevertheless, scientists still do not know exactly how our ancestors managed to withstand the cold in regions with extreme climates after leaving the sun-drenched Africa.
Human ancestors had a layer of body hair for protection – (Photo: The Scientist).
Research over the past two decades suggests that a DNA variation in body fat along with the FTO gene (which is linked to obesity) is related to the thermogenic capacity of adipose cells in humans. According to scientists, this genetic variation may be associated with the cold adaptation abilities of mammals, including humans.
In a recent study, scientists analyzed the frequency of this gene variant in a diverse group of volunteers and found a significant correlation between the frequency of variant C and the average surface temperature of the Earth in January.
Experts indicate that this shows that “the colder the geographical location, the higher the frequency of the variant.” Additionally, scientists noted that the variation in the frequency of variant C corresponds with human migration maps throughout history.
They concluded that this change occurred when a portion of the population left Africa to move to the Eurasian continent, thus needing to adapt to various new levels of cold. Individuals with variant C would have a higher thermogenic capacity in cold weather, leading to better survival in frigid environments.
This change occurred when part of the population left Africa for the Eurasian continent.
Scientists believe this could be one of the gene variants that helped our ancestors endure low temperatures, adding that further research is needed on human evolutionary directions to arrive at a definitive conclusion.
“Just like the paintings on the walls of Blombos Cave, our DNA is also a truthful history of all significant events throughout the journey of human evolution,” the research team concluded.
