Studies on the inheritance of human skin colour

Harrison, G. A.; Owen, J. J. T.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-1809.1964.tb00457.x

Cited by 103 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…This is consistent with the prediction that environmental factors will be least important at this least exposed site. Harrison and Owen (1964) based their estimates of heritability in African-European hybrids on measurements of the upper arm at 685 nm because they predicted that this would have the highest heritability. Their prediction is supported by these results.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In practice it is extremely difficult to detect .in classical twin studies, even under ideal conditions and where it occurs it will usually be confounded with VA and E2 (Martin, Eaves, Kearsey and Davies 1978). One of the criteria for transformation used by Harrison and Owen (1964) was the removal of the directionality of dominance. This does not usually affect the estimate of dominance variance, but in their analysis of European-African hybrids the estimate of Vo was negligible and it is likely that it will be even less important within popUlations.…”

Section: Fitting Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Following the introduction of reflectance spectrophotometry, Harrison and Owen (1964) examined the genetics of skin colour in hybrids between Europeans and West Africans. Because there was no overlap in the parental distributions, they were able to assume that they were dealing with pure-breeding lines, and so to estimate the potence ratio and number of eff~ctive factors (Mather and Jinks 1971).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Harrison and Owen (1964), melanin content is measured most accurately at 685 nm and it can be predicted that environmental factors would have most influence on an exposed site (e.g. forehead) measured at this wavelength and least at an unexposed site (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A twin study of skin reflectance

Clark

Stark

Walsh

et al. 1981

Annals of Human Biology

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Summary. Skin colour has been measured by refiectance spectrophotometry on 134 pairs of twins at three sites, forehead. forearm and upper arm, each at three wavelengths, 425, 545 and 685 nm. Tanning is measured most reliably at 685 nm and at this wavelength the heritability is high at the least exposed upper arm site, intermediate on the forearm, while on the forehead variation is entirely environmentally determined. The same gradient is observed, though less strikingly at 545 nm. but at 425 nm, where haemoglobin is refiecting most of the light, the degree of genetic determination is the same at all sites.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fitting Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A twin study of skin reflectance

Clark

Stark

Walsh

et al. 1981

Annals of Human Biology

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“…analysis (Harrison & Owen 1964). The identification of appropriate scales of measurement also allowed a much more meaningful comparison of skin color differences among all populations , Harrison & Salzano 1966).…”

Section: Wwwannualreviewsorg • a Life Of Research In Biological Antmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Life of Research in Biological Anthropology

Harrison

2010

Annu. Rev. Anthropol.

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I much appreciated being invited to write a contribution for this journal, but initially presumed that what was required was a comprehensive review of some major issue in biological anthropology. Indeed I drafted a contribution on the history of the subject during the second part of the twentieth century. I was then firmly told that this was not what was wanted, rather something much more autobiographical. Well that is what you have got: an extremely personal account of my own research career over some 50 years in biological anthropology. I have summarized the results of what I consider the main projects I and my colleagues have undertaken and tried to document successes and failures. I cannot claim any earth-shattering discovery but hope that we have contributed in a substantial way to the further understanding of the nature of human variation, a main concern of biological anthropology in the second half of the twentieth century.

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