News in Brief Genetics

Stone Age Spaniard had blue eyes, dark skin

Genetics of 7,000-year-old skeleton suggests pale skin came later

THE BARE BONES  DNA from the skeleton of a Stone Age hunter-gatherer from northwestern Spain suggests blue eyes evolved before light skin did.

 

 J.M. Vidal Encina

By Tina Hesman Saey

- More than 2 years ago

Blue eyes may have evolved before blond hair and pale skin, a genetic analysis of a 7,000-year-old Spanish skeleton suggests.