Light Skin as an Elite Trait

Ancient‑DNA analysis shows alleles for lighter skin are overrepresented in individuals with higher educational‑attainment polygenic scores, even after controlling for UV, ancestry, time, and population structure. This suggests depigmentation in parts of Europe may initially have been concentrated among socially buffered elites before becoming widespread. — If true, it reframes stories about the origins of skin‑color differences from purely environmental adaptation to include social selection and class‑structured mating, with downstream effects on modern conversations about race and biology.