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Why early humans shed hair for naked skin
Sunday February 17, 2013 01:12:18 PM,
IANS
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Washington: Hairless
skin among humans first evolved as a way to keep cool.
Prior to the evolution of mostly naked skin, humans were furry
creatures, not unlike chimpanzees now, said Nina Jablonski,
professor of anthropology at Penn State University.
About 1.5 to 2 million years ago, early humans, who were regularly
on the move as hunters and scavengers, evolved into nearly
hairless creatures to more efficiently sweat away excess body
heat, said Jablonski.
Later, humans began to decorate skin to increase attractiveness to
the opposite sex and to express, among other things, group
identity.
"We can make a visual impact and present a completely different
impression than we can with regular, undecorated skin," Penn
University quoted Jablonski as saying.
Jablonski said both males and females used skin decoration to
become more attractive to the opposite sex.
Women used make-up to increase the size of their eyes, a cue
considered attractive in most cultures.
Males in some cultures used skin decoration as a way to bring out
facial features to appeal to women or to look more menacing and
warrior-like.
"Usually it is something with deep meaning," Jablonski said.
Jablonski said that she and other researchers based their estimate
on when humans evolved hairless skin on the study of the fossil
record and an examination of the molecular history of genes that
code proteins that help produce skin pigmentation.
"We find a lot of evidence of when humans began to lose hair based
on molecular genetics," said Jablonski.
These findings were presented at the annual meeting of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston.
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