Race, Language and Culture
My role is to introduce the biological
aspect of the course. So, I will
discuss:
What is the nature of human races?
Are there biological bases to
human differences? Or, is the
concept of ‘race’ merely a cultural
construction?
If race has a biological basis, how did
these differences come about? How
long has human variation like this
The human species: Homo sapiens
Much of our biology and behavior is framed
within an evolutionary background.
Modern humans are a part of the natural
world. As vertebrates, mammals and
primates, we share a host of biological
features with these animals.
One of the things that we will be
concerned with in this class is to examine
the development of those features that
make us unique.
Homo sapiens
Through the study of the fossil record, and
more recently, comparisons of the genetic
material of living humans and fragments of the
genetic material from several extinct human
groups, we have been able to begin the
reconstruction of our separate evolutionary
history.
We last shared a common ancestor with our
closest living primate relatives, the African
apes, chimps and gorillas, between 5 and 8
million years ago.
Comparisons of our genetic material with that
of chimpanzees reveals that we are about 98.3
– 98.6% genetically identical with this African
ape. It has been estimated that differences in
only about 50 genes separate them from us.
Human Origins
humans
chimpanzees
gorillas
5 - 8 myr
10 myr.
common ancestry of humans and
African apes
An evolutionary diagram of human and African ape
relationships, based on various genetic studies
Humans in an Evolutionary Framework
Later lectures will explore our
evolutionary development in much
greater detail, and examine the fossil
evidence documenting the emergence
of modern humans.
We will consider the various theories
that have been proposed to explain
modern human biology and variation.
This afternoon, as an introduction, let
us briefly consider the concept of ‘race’
and whether it has any reality or not.
Race: A First Consideration
The concept of race is one of the most
misunderstood ideas in human history, and
one that has caused a great deal of misery
and harm.
So, the initial points that must be
considered are whether or not there is some
biological and evolutionary reality to ‘race’,
or whether, as Professor Urban observed on
Tuesday, this aspect of human biology has
been put through a cultural filter.
Just how does our society define race?
The Study of Race
For much of human history, peoples have
been concerned about the nature and
meaning of the physical differences that
distinguish human populations.
Often, in addition to their biological
features, members of racial groups also
had psychological and emotional
attributes attributed to them.
But, is there a reality to human
difference?
So, question 1 and THE basic question:
What is the reality of Race?
Human Variation
There are all sorts of differences amongst
humans, and we are all aware that
people vary in facial and body features.
We also know that these differences
extend to the genetic materials
themselves.
Indeed, there are parts of the
human genome that are so
hypervariable that examination of these
specific locales can identify specific
individuals with a 1 in 88,000 chance of
mistaking one person with another.
But!!: The BIG question: is this
individual or population variation?
All humans vary (except for identical twins, but that is a
specific case, and usually by adulthood, there are
differences resulting from environmental influences).
This variation is the result of the complex interaction of
both genetic and environmental influences.
Is the variation we see in humans scattered across the
human species without any particular pattern?
Or, are there geographic distributions to the variations
in the human species? That is, are there limits to the
presence of biological features? Some biological
features will be found in a percentage of peoples in one
geographic locale, but not found in the peoples that live
somewhere else.
Human variation I
Human Variation II
The Reality of Race I
There are consistent differences between
different human populations.
If you placed 100 San Bushman (from Southern
Africa) in a room with 100 native Japanese, and
with 100 native Swedes and with 100 native
Australians, all of you could sort out the
members of each of these populations with
100% accuracy.
However, if you placed 100 Egyptians in
another room with 100 Sudanese, with 100
Turkish people, with 100 Jordanians , it would
be extremely difficult to sort out these people.
The Reality of Race II
People are distinct across broad geographic
ranges (for example, between the populations
from the Kalahari and from Sweden).
However, humans are continuously distributed,
with no distinct borders or boundaries
separating populations. Biological features
gradually change from one geographic area to
another.
Thus, there is both a reality of human
difference between peoples from distant
locales, and at the same time, no reality to the
concept of racial groups bounded by distinct
borders.
popmap
Thus: can races be defined?
If there are no distinctive features that provide
boundries between human populations, then why have
the traditional views of race as distinctive groups
developed? And do most people believe that there is a
reality to human races as separate entities?
Much of this is the result of the history of the study of
human biology and variation. Up until the latter part of
the 20th century, races were viewed as groups with
fixed and identifiable borders. Various authors defined
the number of races and their distributions in numerous
ways.
The Social Concept of Race
In present day society, the social concept of
race is intertwined with the idea of an “ethnic
group”.
When the U.S. government uses the term
race, it often is describing groups of people
who share language, culture and a vague
historical background.
For example, the use of the term “Hispanic”
does not have any biological meaning, but
rather refers to peoples from parts of Central
and South America and the Caribbean.
Social Concepts of Race
Other socially constructed races, including
African Americans (‘blacks’), Europeans
(‘whites’), and Asians, have little biological
reality and are often based on behavioral and
cultural stereotypes, or simply on skin color.
Many social agencies utilize the identification
of the racial identity of people in order to
determine the effectiveness of programs and
thus for requests for Federal funding.