Humans have a conflicting relationship with the sun.
People like sunshine but it gets hot. You have sweat in your eyes. There are many protective rituals, including the sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses. If you stay out too long or don't take enough precautions, you can get a sunburn. The heat, pain, and remorse begin.
People were obsessed with what the sun would do to their body. The short answer is no, and they didn't need to be. Skin stood up to the sun for a long time.
Humans evolved under the sun. People were guided through the days and seasons by the warmth of the sun. Most of our prehistory and history was nude. Our ancestors' bodies and the world were connected by skin.
Human skin was able to adapt to any situation it encountered. People used to make portable shelters from wood, animal skins and other materials when they were able to find a shelter.
They covered themselves with fur blankets at night. During the active daylight hours, people were outside, and their bare skin was what they had.
Skin responds to the Sun in many ways. Adding more layers of cells increases the thickness of the skin.
As specialized cells kick into action, the skin becomes darker for most people.
The molecule absorbs most visible light and makes it look very dark brown. Eumelanin absorbs harmful rays.
Different amounts of eumelanin can be produced by people. Some have a lot and are able to produce a lot more when their skin is exposed to sun, while others have less to begin with and produce less when their skin is exposed.
My research shows that the skin color of people in prehistory was influenced by local environmental conditions.
People who lived under strong UV light for a long time were capable of making a lot of eumelanin, a tanning agent.
Lighter skinned people who lived under weaker and more seasonal UV levels had limited ability to produce protective pigments.
Our distant ancestors had only their feet to carry them.
Their skin is able to adapt to seasonal changes in sunlight and UV conditions by producing more eumelanin and becoming darker in the summer and then losing some of its color in the fall and winter.
There was never a sudden shock of strong Sun exposure for people with lightly-pigmented skin. The top layer of their skin would get thicker over time as the sun got stronger.
The leathery and wrinkled appearance of the sun-exposed skin of our ancestors is not something that a doctor would approve of.
The levels of Sun change with the seasons and the skin quickly shows its age. People who live traditional, mostly outdoors, lives in many parts of the world.
The effects of Sun exposure on modern people can be inferred from the fact that no preserved skin from thousands of years ago exists. Skin cancer can be caused by chronic Sun exposure, but rarely of the type that causes death during reproductive age.
Human beings were able to make their living by gathering food, hunting, and fishing around 10,000 years ago.
After people settled down and lived in permanent settlements, the relationship with the sun and sunlight changed a lot. Farming and food storage were related to the construction of buildings.
Many people spent more time in walled settlements and more time indoors by 6000 BCE.
Some people decided to stay indoors if they could. They began protecting themselves from the sun when they went out.
parasols, umbrellas, hats, tents, and clothing were created to protect people from the sun's harmful effects on the skin.
The luxury items that were originally reserved for nobility, like the parasols and umbrellas of ancient Egypt and China, became more widely used.
In some places, people made protective pastes out of minerals and plants to protect their skin. The thanaka paste is still being used in the country.
In traditional agricultural societies, people who spent most of their time indoors were seen as privileged and lighter skinned people were seen as less so.
The sun-darkened skin of a 'farmer's tan' was not a good sign. Suntanned skin was associated with a life of work.
The skin of people who have moved around a lot and spent a lot of time indoors has not kept up with their lifestyles.
Your levels of eumelanin probably aren't adapted to the Sun conditions where you live and so aren't able to protect you the same way they might have done in the past.
Everyone is vulnerable to damage caused by Sun exposure even if they are naturally dark-colored or capable of tanning.
The 'vacation effect' of sudden strong UV exposure is bad because it causes damage to the skin that is never fully repaired. It's like a bad debt that ends up being pre-cancerous skin later on.
A tan isn't good for you because it doesn't protect you from further Sun damage.
We're not our ancestors and people love the sun. The relationship with the Sun has changed and this means that you need to change your behavior to save your skin.
A professor at Penn State.
The article was written by The Conversation. The original article is worth a read.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
