Red hair: Encyclopedia II - Red hair - Historical distribution

Red hair - Historical distribution

Red hair is most commonly found at both the west and eastern fringes of modern Europe. Although red hair in the human population is most commonly associated with those of the British Isles (more specifically the Scots and Irish), dark red or reddish-tinged hair can be found in a few other Caucasian populations. The Galatian invasion of 275 BC has resulted in a smattering of red hair in the population of modern-day Turkey, as well as some in Iran. The Berber and Kabylie populations of northern Algeria have occasional red heads. The Classical Greek historian, Herodotus described his 'Budini' (probably Votyak and Permyak Finns) as being predominantly red-headed.

Red hair is also sometimes found in other areas far from the fringes of Europe, such as Japan^[1].

Boudica, the famous British queen of the Iceni, was said by the Greek historian Dio Cassius to: "be tall and terrifying in appearance ... a great mass of red hair fell over her shoulders". The Roman Tacitus commented on the "red hair and large limbs of the inhabitants of Caledonia [Scotland]" (The Life of Agricola, Ch.11), which he linked with some red haired German/Belgic Gaulish tribes.

Scotland has the highest proportion of red-heads of any country worldwide with 13% of the population having naturally red hair. A further 40% of Scots carry the MC1R variant gene which results in red hair. The Picts, "tribes that Mediterranean classical-era writers placed in Caledonia (Scotland)" [2], were recorded as red haired. Ireland has the second highest population of naturally red-headed people in the world, amounting to 10% of its inhabitants, though it is a misconception that the Celts were red headed. [3] Viking invaders, who later founded Dublin [4], were known for having red hair. [5]

Highland cattle are also notably ginger. Until the 19th century, black and brown forms of Highland cattle were more prevalent; however, Queen Victoria's love of the Highlands influenced her decree that Highland cattle be selectively bred for a toffee colored-coat. Highland cattle have been orange ever since.

It is estimated that between 2% - 3% of the United States population have red hair.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Historical distribution", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki