Strange Maps calls it The Blonde Map of Europe, but a closer examination shows it to be the distribution of light hair in Europe, with the phrase undefined. There are 150+ comments, but reading #76 and #84 will tell you everything you need to know. There are links to the original study, with discussions of female attractiveness and sexual selection of traits.
There seems to be a general assumption that the progressive lightness as one travels north is a result of decreased sunlight due to increased distance from the equator. That may be the underlying cause, but the map looks to me to show a mutation of light hair on the Baltic coat of Sweden which spread out generations ago. No one seems to note this in the discussion.
2 comments:
I didn’t read all the comments, but I assume no one made a connection between the Islamic Conquest of Europe and the profusion of dark hair throughout the Mediterranean region. People on the Iberian Peninsula used to have fair skin, blue eyes, and light hair. Oh well, no one seems to be much interested in the Guava Theory, either.
A retired botany professor ,who was a bit of a polymath, told me some 40 years ago that the Vikings had transported boatloads of slaves to Europe, and that centuries later that resulted in darker skin shades and hair color in the places where the slaves were brought. Or something like that.
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