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Where do people get their features from?

When people say, for example, you have red hair and green eyes and believe these are Irish features, does that mean that the first person ever to be born in Ireland possessed these Irish features?? In the same way, as when for example if someone has dark curly hair and dark eyes, they could believe you to be medeteranean. How do people get their features?? Sorry if I haven't articulated well.
Reply 1
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thesard
ConservativeLibertarian
When people say, for example, you have red hair and green eyes and believe these are Irish features, does that mean that the first person ever to be born in Ireland possessed these Irish features?? In the same way, as when for example if someone has dark curly hair and dark eyes, they could believe you to be medeteranean. How do people get their features?? Sorry if I haven't articulated well.


The first people in Ireland are said to have crossed over from Scotland circa 8000BC. Maybe the Scottish settlers all had red hair :p: Doubtful, but then red hair is a prevalent feature of the Scottish. But I cannot say for sure when that feature became prevalent. I was under the assumption that one's physical traits are genetically sourced. I also assume that these genes are the product of adaptation (evolution) to our ancestors' environment :confused: This is what I remember of documentaries on the National Geographic channel.

Example of adaptation:

In regions of Africa, where there is a high degree of sun exposure, many of the indigenous people have highly pigmented and thick skins that protect them from the harmful rays of the sun - very dark skin offers about 30 times more protection against the sun than pale skin does*

*http://www.pg.com/science/skincare/Skin_tws_22.htm
Reply 2
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pikaboo
13
thesard
I was under the assumption that one's physical traits are genetically sourced. I also assume that these genes are the product of adaptation (evolution) to our ancestors' environment :confused: This is what I remember of documentaries on the National Geographic channel.

Example of adaptation:

In regions of Africa, where there is a high degree of sun exposure, many of the indigenous people have highly pigmented and thick skins that protect them from the harmful rays of the sun - very dark skin offers about 30 times more protection against the sun than pale skin does*

*http://www.pg.com/science/skincare/Skin_tws_22.htm


That's what I would agree with - plus the population in Ireland for example would be geographically isolated from the rest of Britain, so a higher proportion of redheads could be expected as they only bred with other Irish people who carried more red hair genes. The original British ancestors were all immigrants from further Eastern Europe (and further back, Africa) so over time as they travelled West, their features would have changed to best adapt to the climate and conditions. I think these immigrants would have evolved to 'look British' gradually over thousands of years, it wasn't a matter of who was first to be born in a certain country that got certain features! :smile:

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