AreWetheHumanRace?

ANTH1020
IanRichter
SaltLakeCommunityCollege

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Geneticistsbelievethatanthropologistshavedecidedwhataraceis.Ethnologistsassume
thattheirclassificationsembodyprincipleswhichgeneticsciencehasprovedcorrect.Politicians
believethattheirprejudiceshavethesanctionofgeneticlawsandthefindingsofphysical
anthropologytosustainthem.

LancelotHogben
'TheConceptofRace.'In
GeneticPrinciplesinMedicineand
SocialScience
(1931),122.
Earlyanthropologistsattemptedtoexplorethenatureofhumanspeciesbysystematically
classifyingHomosapiensintosubspeciesorraces,basedongeographiclocationandphysical
featuressuchasskincolor,bodysize,headshapeandhairtexture.Suchclassificationswere
continuallydisputedbythepresenceofindividualswhodidnotmeetthosecategories.
Few
conceptsareasemotionallychargedasthatofrace.Thewordconjuresupamixtureof
associationsculture,ethnicity,genetics,andpersecution.
Tounderstandwhytheracialapproach
tohumanvariationhasbeenunproductive,wemustfirstunderstandtheraceconceptinstrictly
biologicalterms
,alsothatraceneverthelessafundamentalrealityofhumansociety,andfinally
howcultureaffectshumanvariation?Althoughbiologistsandculturalanthropologistslong
supposedthathumanracesor,geneticallydistinctpopulationswithinthesamespecies,havea
trueexistenceinnature,manysocialscientistsandgeneticistsmaintaintodaythattheresimplyis
novalidbiologicalbasisfortheconcept.

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Theresnodoubtthatdifferentgroupsofpeoplecanlookverydifferentfromone
another.Buttocontemporaryanthropologistsandsociologists,thenotionthattherearedistinct
racesofhumanbeings,eachwithitsownspecificattributes,doesntmakemuchsense.

Most
biologistshavereplacedthetermracewithcontinentalancestry.Thisisbecausesuchalarge
fractionoftheworldhasancestryinmorethanonecontinent.Theresultishyphenated
nomenclature,whichattemptstospecifywhichcontinentsarerepresentedinonesancestry.All
humanpopulationsdifferfromoneanother,evenwithinfamilies.Peopledevelopdifferent
adaptationsovertimeandthesemakeuslookdifferent.Therearealsogeographicalinfluences
onourappearance,forexample.Thomsonsrule,involvesthehumannose,whichbecomes
relativelynarrowerwhenclimateiscooleranddryer(BeallandSteegmann2000).(James,2010)
Biologistsusethetermracetodescribevariantsofaspeciesthatexhibitphenotypic
differencesovergeographicalranges

Aturningpointinthedebateofracewaswhen,inapapertitledTheApportionmentof
HumanDiversity,HarvardgeneticistRichardLewontinshowedthathumanpopulations,then
heldtoberaces,werefarmoregeneticallydiversethananyonehadimagined.Lewontinsstudy
wasbasedonmoleculargenetictechniquesandprovidedstatisticalanalysisof17polymorphic
sites,includingthemajorbloodgroupsintheracesastheywereconventionallydefined:
Caucasian,African,Mongoloid,SouthAsianAborigines,Amerinds,OceaniansandAustralian
Aborigines.Whathefoundwasunambiguousandtheinverseofwhatonewouldexpectifsuch
raceshadanybiologicalreality:Thegreatmajorityofgeneticvariation(85.4percent)waswithin

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socalledraces,notbetweenthem.Differencesbetweenlocalpopulationsaccountedfor8.5
percentoftotalvariationdifferencesbetweenregionsaccountedfor6.3percent.Thegenetic
divergencebetweengeographicalpopulationsinthecourseofhumanevolutiondoesnot
comparetothevariationamongindividuals.Sincesuchracialclassificationisnowseentobeof
virtuallynogeneticortaxonomicsignificanceeither,nojustificationcanbeofferedforits
continuance,Lewontinconcluded.
Itisnotclearwhattheexactcriteriaforsuchracesare.
The
factis,generalizedreferencestohumantypessuchas"Asiatic"or"Mongoloid","European"or
"Caucasoid",and"African"or"Negroid"wereatbestmerestatisticalabstractionsabout
populationsinwhichcertainphysicalfeaturesappearedinhigherfrequenciesthaninother
populations.

Althoughraceislackingbiologicalfoundation,ithasaprofoundsocialreality.The
conceptsofrace,ethnicity,andculturearesometimesusedtodescribethesamethings.Wrightet
al.attemptstodistinguishamongtheseterms:"Ethnicgroupswillbesodefinediftheysharea
commonsocialhistory,haveasenseofidentityofthemselvesasagroup,andhavecommon
geographical,religious,racial,andculturalroots.Thecentralcoreofeachethnicgroup,welding
ittogetherwiththethreadofbelief,stylesofbeing,andadapting,isculture.Theterm
culture
hasbeendefinedasalearnedsystemofmeaningandbehaviorthatispassedfromonegeneration
tothenextandasallthecustoms,values,andtraditionsthatarelearnedfromone'senvironment.
Culturesareconstantlyevolvinginresponsetochangesintheenvironment.Moreover,because
cultureisalearnedphenomenon,individualsandgroupscananddochangetheirethnicor

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culturalidentitiesandintereststhroughsuchprocessesasmigration,conversion,andassimilation
orthroughexposuretomodifyinginfluences.Inbiculturalormulticulturalcontexts,suchasare
prevalentintheUnitedStates,theinteractionbetweenculturescanmediateculturalinfluences.
Summerof2015SaltLakeCitywasthehostofTheParliamentofWorldReligionaneventthat
happensonceayear.Thiseventservesasanplacewherepeoplefromeveryspiritualnichecan
cometogetherandhaveanopenenvironmentfordialogue.IvolunteeredattheParliamentand
theSikhpeopleheldaneventcalledLangareverydayaroundlunchtime.DuringLangartheSikh
templefedall~10,000peoplethatattendedtheParliamentofWorldReligion.Everyonewho
attendedLangarwasrequiredtocovertheirheadandremovetheirshoesandsitonthefloor.
Thisexperiencecreatedasenseofequalitythroughouttheroomregardlessofbackgroundand
allowedimmenseinteractionacrossallcultures.Differentculturesmustadapttotheever
changingenvironmentthatisthemodernage.Howwillthesechangesincultureaffectgenetic
variationbetweenhumansandhowdoescultureaffectourgenes?

Roughly10,000yearsago,humanitymadethetransitionfromlivingoffthelandto
activelyraisingcropsand
domesticatedanimals
.Thisculturalchange:concentratedpopulations
anddiseasessuchasmalaria,smallpoxandtuberculosis,amongothers,becamemorevirulent.At
thesametime,thenewagriculturallybaseddietoffereditsownchallenges,includingiron
deficiencyfromlackofmeat,cavitiesand,ultimately,shorterstatureduetopoornutrition,says
anthropologistJohnHawksoftheUniversityofWisconsin."Theirbodiesandteethshrank.Their
brainsshrank,too,"headds."Buttheystartedtogetnewallelesthathelpedthemdigestthefood
moreefficiently.Newprotectiveallelesallowedafractionofpeopletosurviveillnessesbetter."

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Bylookingforwideswathsofgeneticmaterialthatvarylittlefromindividualto
individualwithinthesesectionsofgreatvariation,theresearchersidentifiedregionsthatboth
originatedrecentlyandconferredsomekindofadvantage.Forexample,Itturnsoutthatcultures
withahistoryofdairyfarmingandmilkdrinkinghaveamuchhigherfrequencyoflactose
tolerance,anditsassociatedgene,thanthosewhodon't.Anotherexampleofhowculture
influencesourgenesistherelationshipbetweenyamfarmingandmalariaresistance.Throughout
muchofAfrica,peopleareinconstantbattlewithmalaria.Buttherearesomepeoplewhoseem
tohaveanaturaldefenseforce.Theirredbloodcells,normallyshapedlikeflatteneddisks,are
shapedinsteadlikeacrescentorsickle.Becauseoftheoddshapedbloodcells,
sicklecell
diseasecanleadtoblockagesinbloodvessels
,whichinturncausepainandorgandamage.
Undernormalcircumstances,evolutionkeepssicklecelldiseasetoaminimumbecauseitcanbe
soharmfulandcanreducelifeexpectancy.Butbecauseofabiologicalquirk,thesicklecellgene
canactuallyprotectagainstmalaria.Soinpartsoftheworldwheremalariainfectionratesare
extremelyhigh,likeAfrica,naturalselectionmayactuallyfavourthesickleshapedcells.Inthe
gambleoflife,protectionagainstmalariamaybepreferable,evenatthepotentialcostof
sufferingfromsicklecelldisease.Sowhileit'ssicklecelldiseasethat'sprotectiveagainst
malaria,itwasauniquelyhumanbehavior,yamfarming,thatallowedevolutiontoact.

"Wefoundverymanyhumangenesundergoingselection,"saysanthropologistGregory
CochranoftheUniversityofUtah,amemberoftheteamthatanalyzedthe3.9millionDNA
sequenceshowingthemostvariation."Mostareveryrecent,somuchsothattherateof
human
evolution
overthepastfewthousandyearsisfargreaterthanithasbeenoverthepastfew

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millionyears."
Asmigrationincreasesaroundtheworld,featuresthatmightpreviouslyhave
allowedoureyestoclassifypeoplewillundoubtedlybecomeblurred.Thenthesmallfractionof
DNAdifferencesthatdifferbetweenpopulationswillbecomeevensmaller.Ithinkraceis
outdatedandoftenpejorative,butracismisstillaproblem.Ithinkwemustremainonthealert
forracismandhavereadyresponsestoitwhenitrearsitsuglyhead.

Theconsensusamong
Westernresearcherstodayisthathumanracesaresocioculturalconstructs.Still,theconceptof
humanraceasanobjectivebiologicalrealitypersistsinscienceandinsociety.Itishightimethat
policymakers,educatorsandthoseinthemedicalindustrialcomplexridthemselvesofthe
misconceptionofraceastypeorasgeneticpopulation.Biologiststellusthattheonlymeaningful
racialcategorizationisthatofhuman

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Sources

Lewontin,RichardC.TheGeneticBasisofEvolutionaryChange.NewYork:ColumbiaUP,
1974.

Carter&Qureshi."TheSociallyConstructedNatureofRace,Culture,andDisabilityVol.4,No.
1."
TheSociallyConstructedNatureofRace,Culture,andDisabilityVol.4,No.1
.Web.23Mar.
2016.

Wrightetal."TheSociallyConstructedNatureofRace,Culture,andDisabilityVol.4,No.1."
TheSociallyConstructedNatureofRace,Culture,andDisabilityVol.4,No.1
.Web.23Mar.
2016.

Hogben,Lancelot.'TheConceptofRace.'In
GeneticPrinciplesinMedicineandSocialScience
.
NewYork.1931.

James,GaryD.ClimateRelatedMorphologicalVariationandPhysiologicalAdaptioninHomo
Sapiens.

Beall,C.M.,andSteegmann,A.T.,JRHumanAdaptationtoClimate:Temperature,Ultraviolet
RadiationandAltitude.InS.Stinson,B.Bogin,R.HussAshmoreandD.ORourke(eds),
HumanBiology:AnEvolutionaryandBioculturalPerspective
(pp.163224).NewYork:
WileyLissInc.2000.

Hawks,John.
TheEvolutionofHumanPopulationSize:ASynthesisofGeneticand
PaleoanthropologicalData
.1999.

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