Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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Why Blue Eyes Are Much Older Than 10,000 Years…
What is the Origin of Blue Eyes?
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:13 What Causes Blue Eyes?
1:18 Why People Say 6,000-10,000 Years Old
2:36 How Old Are Blue Eyes? (Origins)
6:34 Get Member-Only Videos
6:47 Western Hunter Gatherers & Blue Eye Prevalence
So many people online say that blue eyes are only 10,000 years old, but this isn’t true. So in this video we are going to look at where this figure comes from, who the first person with blue eyes was, and what the true origins of blue eyes are in general. Now the beauty of blue eyes is that we actually have a good understanding of what causes them. Unlike intermediate eye colors like hazel and green (that are a little more complex), scientists actually can predict either blue or brown eye color with a very high degree of accuracy, at around 90–95%.
This is because blue or brown eye color is primarily determined by a mutation in the HERC2-OCA2 gene region. To be more specific, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the HERC2 gene (rs12913832) regulates the nearby OCA2 gene, which in turn controls melanin production in the iris. Blue eyes are caused by a mutation in this area that reduces melanin production. This lack of pigment causes light to scatter in a way that makes the eyes appear blue, a similar process to why the sky looks blue.
Now this HERC2 mutation behaves essentially as a recessive trait: individuals with two copies of the derived allele have blue eyes, while those with one or zero copies produce enough melanin for darker eyes.
But how old are blue eyes and where does this 10,000 year figure come from?
Sources:
Eiberg, H., Troelsen, J., Nielsen, M. et al. Blue eye color in humans may be caused by a perfectly associated founder mutation in a regulatory element located within the HERC2 gene inhibiting OCA2 expression. Hum Genet 123, 177–187 (2008). doi.org/10.1007/s00439-007-0460-x
Blue-eyed humans have a single, common ancestor | ScienceDaily
Fu, Q., Posth, C., Hajdinjak, M. et al. The genetic history of Ice Age Europe. Nature 534, 200–205 (2016). doi.org/10.1038/nature17993
Feldman, M., Fernández-Domínguez, E., Reynolds, L. et al. Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia. Nat Commun 10, 1218 (2019). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09209-7
Western Hunter-Gatherer - Wikipedia
Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy - nhm.ac.uk/discover/cheddar-man-mesolithic-britain-blue-eyed-boy.html
17,000 Year Old Remains Could Be Oldest Evidence of Blue Eyes
17,000-year-old remains of blue-eyed baby boy unearthed in Italy | Live Science
Higgins, O.A., Modi, A., Cannariato, C. et al. Life history and ancestry of the late Upper Palaeolithic infant from Grotta delle Mura, Italy. Nat Commun 15, 8248 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51150-x
Heterozygous National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Creative Commons Imagery:
Geni File:Cheddar Man upper body.JPG - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons
Scuola Sovramonte File:Cranio del Cacciatore della Val Rosna.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons
Blue eyes origin – blue eyes age – first blue-eyed person – how old are blue eyes – origins of blue eyes - Villabruna hunter-gatherer – Cheddar Man – True age blue eyes - Bichon hunter gatherer – Western Hunter Gatherers – Ice Age Europe
#blueyes #ancestry #dna
Join This Channel on YouTube to Get Access to Perks: youtube.com/channel/UCCS3M_uNHH2iOJkpGhkO2SA/join
Subscribe to Celtic History Decoded - youtube.com/channel/UCCS3M_uNHH2iOJkpGhkO2SA?sub_confirmation=1
Get Access to Member-Only Videos on Patreon - patreon.com/historydecoded
Why Blue Eyes Are Much Older Than 10,000 Years…
What is the Origin of Blue Eyes?
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:13 What Causes Blue Eyes?
1:18 Why People Say 6,000-10,000 Years Old
2:36 How Old Are Blue Eyes? (Origins)
6:34 Get Member-Only Videos
6:47 Western Hunter Gatherers & Blue Eye Prevalence
So many people online say that blue eyes are only 10,000 years old, but this isn’t true. So in this video we are going to look at where this figure comes from, who the first person with blue eyes was, and what the true origins of blue eyes are in general. Now the beauty of blue eyes is that we actually have a good understanding of what causes them. Unlike intermediate eye colors like hazel and green (that are a little more complex), scientists actually can predict either blue or brown eye color with a very high degree of accuracy, at around 90–95%.
This is because blue or brown eye color is primarily determined by a mutation in the HERC2-OCA2 gene region. To be more specific, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the HERC2 gene (rs12913832) regulates the nearby OCA2 gene, which in turn controls melanin production in the iris. Blue eyes are caused by a mutation in this area that reduces melanin production. This lack of pigment causes light to scatter in a way that makes the eyes appear blue, a similar process to why the sky looks blue.
Now this HERC2 mutation behaves essentially as a recessive trait: individuals with two copies of the derived allele have blue eyes, while those with one or zero copies produce enough melanin for darker eyes.
But how old are blue eyes and where does this 10,000 year figure come from?
Sources:
Eiberg, H., Troelsen, J., Nielsen, M. et al. Blue eye color in humans may be caused by a perfectly associated founder mutation in a regulatory element located within the HERC2 gene inhibiting OCA2 expression. Hum Genet 123, 177–187 (2008). doi.org/10.1007/s00439-007-0460-x
Blue-eyed humans have a single, common ancestor | ScienceDaily
Fu, Q., Posth, C., Hajdinjak, M. et al. The genetic history of Ice Age Europe. Nature 534, 200–205 (2016). doi.org/10.1038/nature17993
Feldman, M., Fernández-Domínguez, E., Reynolds, L. et al. Late Pleistocene human genome suggests a local origin for the first farmers of central Anatolia. Nat Commun 10, 1218 (2019). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09209-7
Western Hunter-Gatherer - Wikipedia
Cheddar Man: Mesolithic Britain's blue-eyed boy - nhm.ac.uk/discover/cheddar-man-mesolithic-britain-blue-eyed-boy.html
17,000 Year Old Remains Could Be Oldest Evidence of Blue Eyes
17,000-year-old remains of blue-eyed baby boy unearthed in Italy | Live Science
Higgins, O.A., Modi, A., Cannariato, C. et al. Life history and ancestry of the late Upper Palaeolithic infant from Grotta delle Mura, Italy. Nat Commun 15, 8248 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51150-x
Heterozygous National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
Creative Commons Imagery:
Geni File:Cheddar Man upper body.JPG - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons
Scuola Sovramonte File:Cranio del Cacciatore della Val Rosna.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Deed - Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International - Creative Commons
Blue eyes origin – blue eyes age – first blue-eyed person – how old are blue eyes – origins of blue eyes - Villabruna hunter-gatherer – Cheddar Man – True age blue eyes - Bichon hunter gatherer – Western Hunter Gatherers – Ice Age Europe
#blueyes #ancestry #dna
