Were the First Humans Dark Skinned?

While it is impossible to answer this definitively, it seems quite probable that, as Homo erectus evolved in the equatorial regions of the earth and as darker skin provided protection against sunlight, evolution proceeded from dark to light. Fairer skinned people typically inhabit the higher latitudes where there is less sunlight and where fair skin is advantageous in trapping vitamin D from sunlight. Even today, Negroid peoples, particularly children, can develop vitamin D deficiencies living in latitudes even as relatively low as the United Kingdom because of the ‘barrier’ effect of dark skin against sunlight.