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Research Paper
Anth 1020
Joey Collins
The concept of race is a very intriguing and complex subject, and it is ever changing.
According to John H. Relethford, author of The Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology, race
“is a group of populations that share some biological characteristics….These populations differ
from other groups of populations according to these characteristics.” In the world we live in
now, the genetic gene pool of Homo sapiens is extremely mixed and diverse. Because of this I
don’t believe that there are any pure race human beings still existing today. I know that
previously in my life, when I have tried to do my genetic background for school, I found that I
am an extremely mixed hybrid of the different “so called” races. This could be due to the fact
that the gene flow of today’s world is very rapid, people move all over the world, and this
causes more mixing of races. This can also be tied into our learnings with genetic drift. As a
group or family moves to a new geographic area, the next generation can differ in genetic
makeup just simply by adaptive traits.
“Vast new data in human biology have completely revamped the traditional notions of
race. Race is a biological term that describes the DNA structure of an individual as a fixed
attribute that cannot be changed. This idea is used in biology to discuss how different peoples
adapt to environments and hence, making the term "race" has no scientific basis. Today most
scientists reject the concept of race as a valid way of defining human beings. Researchers no
longer believe that races are distinct biological categories created by differences in genes that
people inherit from their ancestors. Genes vary, but not in the popular notion of black, white,
yellow, red and brown races. Many biologist and anthropologists have concluded that race is a
Research Paper
Anth 1020
Joey Collins
social, cultural and political concept based largely on superficial appearances” (American
College of Physicians)
I get asked all the time, ‘’what race are you?” which most of the time I reply just a huge
mix of ethnicities. It’s hard from a social perspective to realize how different people really are,
and to think we can just generalize humans into a couple categories of race. Before this class I
viewed race the same way, such as Black, Hispanic, White, Asian, and so on. I also would have
thought race and ethnicity were the same. I feel races are purely socially created and are solely
represented by the looks of a person. On the other hand the genetic makeup of a person
sharing similar traits is what makes the scientific definition. So in the end there is really only
one race and that is the human race.
In our course we learned about Carolos Linnaeus and how he started the classification
system, this was the start of race in human beings. “In 1758 a Swedish botanist named Carolus
Linnaeus established the classification system still in use for various forms of life. He listed four
categories that he labeled as "varieties" of the human species. To each he attributed inherited
biological as well as learned cultural characteristics. He described Homo European as lightskinned, blond, and governed by laws; Homo American was copper-colored and was regulated
by customs; Homo Asiatic was sooty and dark-eyed and governed by opinions; Homo African
was black and indolent and governed by impulse.” (Tattersal)
Research Paper
Anth 1020
Joey Collins
It is hard for me to grasp the idea of biological race whether it is six, seven, or even eight
different races. The truth is with all the different genetic characteristics that go into the
biological makeup of a human being, how is it possible for us to base the term race on only
certain things such as appearance and geographic living areas. Biological race seems to have
fueled our view of race. With the amount of genetic variation in human beings, the fact that
we have tried to group us into such broad categories is not scientific at all. We have tried to
define race with these three categories Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid, and they are based on facial
shape and hair texture. This would put some Australians as European Africans, due to the fact some
have light curly hair with dark skin. By selecting only a few genetic characteristics it will always
ends up running in circles. In the end I don’t feel race defines me or who I am by any means. I
can see how some people might feel discriminated against because of the term race, so that
can cause some ethical problems and cross boundaries. On the other hand it gives some a
sense of pride to be categorized or feel like they belong to a group of persons. So I believe it
comes down to the individual and the culture they are brought up in. It’s sad to think that the
reason race can have ethical problems is because our fellow human beings are disliking or
discriminating against each other, when underneath it all we share the same ancestors.
Research Paper
Anth 1020
Joey Collins
Works Cited
American College of Physicians. http://www.acponline.org/journals/annals/15ovt96/medrace.htm.
2011. 23 7 2014.
Relethford, John H. The Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology. minneapolis: mayfield, 1997.
Tattersal, Ian. "Almost ." Anthropology Now (2011): 13.