To fully understand the biological and social aspects of skin color, Nina Jablonski, distinguished professor of anthropology at Pennsylvania State University, first starts with our ancestors. 

"We see these levels of pigmentation being played with a lot in the last 50 thousand years of human history," said Jablonski. "It's very exciting and interesting, because there's an interaction between our biological evolution and the cultural factors that influence that evolution." 

Jablonski discussed why and how skin pigmentation evolved, as well as the ever present concept and impacts of race in a symposium and a topical lecture during the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting.