There's a little bit of black blood in everyone

[saxy_jag]

My Indian colleague reckons that if we trace our ancestry back far enough, there's a little bit of black or Asian blood in all of us. If that's the case, it includes Nick Griffin.

Has anyone ever traced his lineage? Wouldn't it be the ultimate irony if he had some black ancestry?

[woofgang]

apparently we all came out of Africa originally.

[NoMercy]

When I went to the University in Cairo, the chap told us that we can all trace our ancestry back to Egypt.

[AlBags]

I think I have a bit of Pole in me ..
What about you Nom?

: )

[NoMercy]

Omg... lol !

[boxtops]

I believe this to be true, if you go back far far far enough.

[Buenchico]

The whole of the human race has its ancestry in a few tribes from Africa, so your colleague has clearly got a point.

However the few skeletal remains of those early tribes don't tell us anything about their skin colouring. It might have been that everyone was originally black and then those who moved northwards gradually lost the protective skin pigmentation which wasn't required away Africa. But it seems more likely that everyone was originally 'white' and that the skin pigmentation acquired by those peoples who remained in Africa was a later evolutionary development.

Chris

[AlBags]

Just jokin' Nom x
An old joke I suddely remembered .. had to get that one out : )

[NoMercy]

It's like that old joke, "Any Italian in you?"

"Not since last night..."

[AlBags]

pmsl Nom : )

[jno]

why would that be, Chris? Wouldn't those who had white skin while still in Africa have been at an evolutionary disadvantage? You'd expect the ones with darker skin to have a better chance of survival. We were in Africa from about 200,000 years ago and started to migrate 70,000 years ago. It would be odd if we stayed white for 130,000 years and then changed colour only in the last 70,000, wouldn't it?

[AlBags]

... and fair doos to you Tues/Wed.
I had my moments with him too. Bless x

[jake-the-peg]

This was a brilliant program

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100%25_English

they did dna tests on a bunch of right wingers and found quite a lot of "foreign genes"

Especially one woman who went balistic and tried to have the program banned after being told she had sub-saharan genes in her "very recent" familly tree.

Disappointintly Norman Tebbit turned out to be the most "racially pure" but Gary Bushell wasn't too pleased

[ludwig]

I think originally we were all brown and furry.

[jackthehat]

^ some of us still are................:o(

[Ankou]

you probably mean black gene rather than blood. although potenially there is a particular gene that partially controls skin colour, skin colour is determined by the amount of melanin you have. variations in skin colour are mainly genetic

people with more melanin are darker than those than those with less melanin are whiter. as humans evolved in africa it is thought that they were all originally dark skinned because dark skin helps to protect against sun and skin cancer.

as humans spread to other parts of the world,the dark skin was not as needed as much.so melanin became less important for survival.so in colder countries people developed lighter skin as they did not face the same pressure to protect themselves from sun.

so yes, if you go back far enough we probably all have dark skinned brown eyed ancestors and we are all related, although with the odd genetic mutation along the way (blue eyed blondes etc, like the recent baby born to black parents) we have all become somewhat difference, the real mystery perhaps is that of the chinese race.

[McMouse]

There are some ABers who will have difficulty tracing one generation.

[Ankou]

vader: luke, i am your father
luke: err, no you aint.
vader: oh.