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Allie Adcock

Teresa Potter
Human Origins
April 23, 2016
Race
Oneofthemostinterestingthingsaboutthehumanraceishowwehavesuchawide
rangeofskincolorsthankstothemelanininourepidermis.Thereisapatternfoundwhen
comparingskincolortoregionsoftheworld.Youwillfindthatasyouareclosertotheequator
themostcentrallateralringtheskinofthosehumansisextremelydark.Why?Becausethere
ishighlevelsofmelanindefinedinthedictionaryasany of a class of insoluble pigments,
found in all forms of animal life, that account for the dark color of skin, hair, fur, scales, feathers,
etc.which is like an inborn sunscreen. However, you will find that as you go further and
further away from the equator to countries like Scandinavia, Canada, or Greenland, the skin is
extremely fair or pale. Why? Because there is low levels of melanin causing for these people to,
rather than to become extremely dark, soak in as much vitamin D as possible.
Race,whilewedontknowtheexactoriginoftheword,canbetracedbacktotheLatin
rootratiowhichmeansspeciesorkind.Fivehundredyearsago,thetermracewasused
togrouphumansbasedontheirphysicaltraits.Inthepast200years,thetermhasbecomea
replacementforwordslikegroup,people,ornation.Ultimately,race,inregardsto
commonknowledge,oftenreferstothedifferencesofnotonlyskincolor(andotherphysical
characteristics)butalsooflanguage,nationality,andreligion.However,overtheyearstherehas
1. http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/race-49
2. Martin Luther Kings I Had a Dream speech August 28, 1963
3. Rieger, R.; Michaelis, A.; Green, M. M. (1968). A glossary of genetics and cytogenetics:
Classical and molecular. New York: Springer-Verlag.
4. The Concept of Race in Contemporary Athropology, Scott MacEachern,
Bowdoin College

beenachangewiththewaytheterm"race"isusedbyscientists.Essentially,itsbeen
determinedthatthereisamajordifferencebetweentheperspectivesofsocialraceandbiological
race.
Fromasociologicalstandpoint,racecanbedefinedas,a group of people who share
physical characteristics, such as facial structure or skin color. Racial characteristics are thought
to be biologically inherited (unlike ethnic characteristics, which are cultural).1 Humans have a
natural tendency to categorize and organize the world around them. For example, we have an
entire classification system for all living organisms on the earth. In the 18th century, Carl
Linnaeus, a Swedish scientist, came up with a classification system, the natural system, for the
human race based upon biological characteristics and culturally inherited characteristics. There
were four categories that seemed to encompass the entire human race: European, American,
Asian, and African. The European race was described as light-skinned and governed by laws;
The American race was described as copper-colored and was regulated by customs; The Asian
race was described as sooty and governed by opinions; and the African race was described as
black governed by impulse. With Europeans on the top of the classification and Africans at the
bottom, not only did Linnaeus categorize the human race in a systematic way, but he also, I
think, used his own opinion in categorizing those from other parts of the world that were not his
own.
As you can see, during the time period of Linnaeus, scientists were really trying to find a
way to classify the human race differently. While his classification system is extremely racist
because of the dictation of culturally inherited characteristics, one can conclude that he sparked
the interest of others when studying humanity as a race. Throughout history there have been
1. http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/race-49
2. Martin Luther Kings I Had a Dream speech August 28, 1963
3. Rieger, R.; Michaelis, A.; Green, M. M. (1968). A glossary of genetics and cytogenetics:
Classical and molecular. New York: Springer-Verlag.
4. The Concept of Race in Contemporary Athropology, Scott MacEachern,
Bowdoin College

competing views of race. In the Declaration of Independence Thomas Jefferson wrote that, All
men are created equal. Although this statement has been declared adamantly throughout US
history, one cannot deny the facts about the struggles the United States has had on the subject of
racism. I believe Martin Luther King Junior said it perfectly in his I Had a Dream speech
when he said I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a nation where they
will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.2 Martin Luther
King Junior didnt want the social views of race to stop his children from living the life they
could only dream about. While racism in the 1960s was a very prevalent social issue at the time,
I believe the United States has come a long way in regards to racism.
It seems as though throughout history there has always been a negative connotation to the
word race. While the definition of race hasnt completely changed over time, because race
still refers to skin color, physical characteristics, and cultural characteristics, the way modern
society views those of races different than their own has completely changed from Linnaeus
classifying the African race as impulsive to the Civil Rights movement in the United States
which gave Blacks so many more freedoms.
When the word race comes up in everyday language, it seems to be a widely talked
about topic. Often times we hear in the news about events that are affect or involve Israelis, or
African Americans, or Pakistanis, or Koreans, or Chinese, or Mexicans. Race, while it helps
classify different nationalities around the world, can sometimes lead to tension. For example,
there are many generalities linked to people of different races, some positive and some negative.
The social and biological views of race are different in the sense that socially, race is
viewed more as a external feature; while biologically speaking, races are defined according to
1. http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/race-49
2. Martin Luther Kings I Had a Dream speech August 28, 1963
3. Rieger, R.; Michaelis, A.; Green, M. M. (1968). A glossary of genetics and cytogenetics:
Classical and molecular. New York: Springer-Verlag.
4. The Concept of Race in Contemporary Athropology, Scott MacEachern,
Bowdoin College

any identifiable characteristic, including gene frequencies. Race differences are relative, not
absolute3 Anthropologists consider the meaning of the word race in two different ways.
First, physical anthropologists look at the biological characteristics of human populations in
different areas of the world. They compare these populations to one another, with the goal of
understanding the patterning of human biological variation. In the nineteenth century,
anthropologists studied the external features of people: their skin color, the color and
configuration of their hair, the proportions of their limbs, the features of their faces and bodies.
In the twentieth century, studies of more subtle variationof blood groups and antibody types,
and most recently and more fundamentally, of genetic materialhas added new levels of detail
and complexity to that research.4 The article continues in talking about the social views of race,
which I have already covered.
As a 20-year-old girl, I have never thought about race as a biological characteristic.
However, it does make sense. In considering Darwins Survival of the Fittest theory, I feel that
it is most appropriate when discussing race from a biological standpoint. If race, considered from
the definition anthropologists have discussed above, includes skin color, the color of their hair,
the proportions of their limbs, the features of their faces and bodies, and more recently, their
blood types and anti-body groups, then the races that have survived throughout time have had the
most survival-like qualities. I can imagine that in all countries throughout the world, male and
females alike try to find a mate that is most qualifying and will survive the longest. When
choosing a mate, one is going to take in consideration all the qualities listed above. Throughout
history, different races have had sexual relations resulting in offspring that have half qualities of
each parent, obviously. Sometimes, like, for example, when the Europeans first came to America,
1. http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/race-49
2. Martin Luther Kings I Had a Dream speech August 28, 1963
3. Rieger, R.; Michaelis, A.; Green, M. M. (1968). A glossary of genetics and cytogenetics:
Classical and molecular. New York: Springer-Verlag.
4. The Concept of Race in Contemporary Athropology, Scott MacEachern,
Bowdoin College

their race brought over diseases that the Native Americans had not been exposed to before
ultimately leading to many deaths within the Native American race.
In comparing and contrasting the definitions of race between the social and biological
views, one factor that is similar is that the color of ones skin can determine their raceand
maybe not even their geographical race, but where their ancestors came from. Both biological
and social views can agree on that skin color and overall physical characteristics of different
races ultimately help in classifying where one is from.
The social definition of race states that, a group of people who share physical
characteristics, such as facial structure or skin color. Racial characteristics are thought to be
biologically inherited (unlike ethnic characteristics, which are cultural)1 Summarizing race from
a social standpoint is only focused on the physical or outward characteristics of a group of
people. In contrast, the biological view of race focuses on not only the outward appearances and
traits of a group of people, but also the proportions of their limbs, their antibodies and blood
types, and even the genetic material of a group of people. So, concluding that that main
difference between social and biological views is one focuses on the outward or physical
characteristics and the other focuses also on the genetic makeup of a group of people,
respectively.
Now that I further understand the social and biological definitions of race, it makes me
want to explore the genetic makeup, blood types, hair color, skin color, and all other proponents
that make up race of my own ancestry. Being of Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, Tahitian, and
Danish descent, I would love to learn more about my genetic makeup and what characteristics of
mine are found in both of my bloodlines. Although the social view of race is more discussed in
1. http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/race-49
2. Martin Luther Kings I Had a Dream speech August 28, 1963
3. Rieger, R.; Michaelis, A.; Green, M. M. (1968). A glossary of genetics and cytogenetics:
Classical and molecular. New York: Springer-Verlag.
4. The Concept of Race in Contemporary Athropology, Scott MacEachern,
Bowdoin College

todays culture, I believe that if we looked more into the biological standpoint with blood types
and antibodies and genetic makeup, it would help us further understand who we are and where
we came from. Race is such an interesting subject in the world because there are so many races
and so much to know about different cultures. I hope that as more scientific research is designed
and we open the door to more resources in understanding race, the human race, entirely, can
understand the similarities and differences between each other.

1. http://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/race-49
2. Martin Luther Kings I Had a Dream speech August 28, 1963
3. Rieger, R.; Michaelis, A.; Green, M. M. (1968). A glossary of genetics and cytogenetics:
Classical and molecular. New York: Springer-Verlag.
4. The Concept of Race in Contemporary Athropology, Scott MacEachern,
Bowdoin College

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