Red hair

Red hair is a hair color shared by several species, among them humans, orangutans, domestic cats, cattle, and horses. It varies from a deep red through to bright copper.

The 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 British or Irish descent, dark red or reddish-tinged hair can be found in a few other Caucasian populations. The Galatian invasion of 275 BC gave modern Turkey a smattering of the present-day population who have red hair and green eyes, as well as some in Iran. The Berber Kabylie population of northern Algeria have occasional red heads with green eyes. It is also sometimes found in other areas far from the fringes of Europe, such as Japan (1).

Related Topics:
British - Irish - Caucasian - Galatian - Turkey - Iran - Berber - Kabylie - Algeria - 1

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Boudicca, the famous British queen of the Iceni, was said by the Roman eyewitness Marcellinus 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.

Related Topics:
Boudicca - Iceni - Marcellinus - Tacitus - Gaulish

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The modern British commonly believe that the cluster of red-heads in the British Isles, averaging 4%, can be associated with Pictish or Celtic ancestry, and certainly Scotland has the highest proportion of red-heads of any country worldwide with 13% of the population having red hair. A further 40% of Scots carry the so-called "ginger gene". Ireland has the second highest red-headed population in the world amounting to 10% of its inhabitants.

Related Topics:
British Isles - Pictish - Celtic - Scotland

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Oddly, there is a strong correlation - proven by an academic study of the British Isles - between the prevelance in an area of ginger cats and the proportion of that area's population who have ginger hair. Highland cattle are also notably ginger. It seems possible that certain tribes managed the breeding of highly-valued species, until they obtained a stable hair-colour which was like their own.

Related Topics:
Ginger cats - Highland cattle

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

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Red hair is significantly thicker than the hair of people of European descent with other hair colours. The numerical density of hairs on the head in red-heads is also lower.

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