The Melanesian: Dark-skinned people with blonde hair region of Oceania

Summary

Melanesians. Photo Coconet TV Have you ever seen black people with blond hair? Melanesians are the black island people in the south Pacific that migrated thousands of years ago. The original inhabitants of the group of islands now named Melanesia were likely the ancestors of the present-day Papuan people. They are a sub-region of Oceania, extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura sea and Eastward to Fiji. The region comprises the countries of Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The indigenous Melanesian populations are thus often classified into two main groups based on differences in language, like Papuan-speaking and Austronesian-speaking groups, culture or genetic ancestry. [ad] The Melanesian people of the Solomon Islands are the point of interest when it comes to their dark skin and blonde hair. There have been several theories on how they got their blonde hair; from sun and salt whitening, high fish intake to genetic heritage from mixed breeding with Americans/ Europeans who founded the island. The incidence of Blond Hair in Melanasia Blond hair evolved independently in Melanesia, where Melanesians of some islands (along with some indigenous Australians) are one of a few groups that did not descend from Europeans who have blond hair. Therefore, it is rare in native populations outside of Europe and North Africa. However, as with blond hair that arose in Europe and parts of Asia, the incidence of blond hair is more common in children than in adults, with hair tending to darken as the individual matures and this has been traced back to an allele of TYRP1 unique to these people and is not the same gene that causes blond hair in Europeans. The Diversification and Differentiation among the Melanesians Studies found a high rate of genetic differentiation and diversity among the groups living within the Melanesian islands, with the peoples not only distinguished between the islands but also by the languages, topography, and s...