“A that time in history, being anything less than pitch-black may have sufficed to earn one the nickname “Red.”
“may have sufficed”?
What makes you believe the white races are only a few hundred years old?
Malccolm X was half white and had reddish hair.
The Hebrew word translated ruddy was the same as the Hebrew word describing Esau and it meant the color we refer to as “red”.
In the Song of Solomon, Solomon is described as “milky white”.
Why do you infer that I believe that? On the contrary: I'm sure that in certain places in the world at that time - maybe in northern Europe - there were plenty of Whites.
Again, my point is that, e.g., a six-footer will be called "Shorty" in a society of 7-footers. In northern Norway, someone with a modicum of melanin might be regarded as "swarthy." In records from the Middle Ages, I'm sure that some people were described as "big" or even as "giants" who wouldn't be at all conspicuous in modern-day America. Biblical passages describing various individuals as "ruddy" or "milky white" (hyperbole!) thus tell us nothing about the actual appearance of those individuals - only their complexion in relation to the average at that time, at that place.
Regards,