Evolution of the Homo genus

If you were to look at the skin of chimpanzees you would see that it is lightly coloured, yet the skin is covered in fur. It is the fur that protects these organisms from the sun. When humans branched off from chimpanzees they retained a few characteristics, light skin being one of them. As the genus Homo started to become more evolved, the body needed to make some adaptations. There was a migration from the forests into open land for the search for food and water. When more efficient hunting and gathering techniques were attained, there was a substantial increase in the metabolic activity of the body. An increase in the number of sweat glands was necessary as a means of cooling down the body. Having fur would be an inconvenience because the sweat would get stuck as the base of the hair follicles, resulting in an insufficient cooling technique. As a result, the body became remarkably more hairless, looking naked from a distance. With this adaptation came a drawback; there was virtually no protection from the UV rays of the sun. Being exposed to the sun for such long periods was of great danger.