All races belong to a single biological species. Review questions and assignments
Anthropology has provided a lot of evidence in favor of the species unity of humanity: for example, the fact that all races, when mixed, produce fertile offspring. Thus, on the Cape Verde Islands there are approximately 100 thousand mestizos per 150 thousand population. In Brazil, according to rough estimates, the number of “pure” Indians is 2% of the total population, and the number of mestizos from whites and Indians, whites and blacks is 33%. All human races are closely connected with each other by transitional forms. The mixed nature of modern humanity forces in many cases to draw boundaries both between the areas of races and between their morphological types only very conditionally. Artificially erected social barriers and measures taken to preserve the “purity” of the race could never completely stop the process of racial mixing (Fig. 6.20.).
The biological unity of human races is confirmed by the identity of the structure of vital organs in representatives of different races, primarily by a set of properties associated with upright posture and the performance of labor processes.
The position of the occipital foramen, typical for humans as an upright walking creature, sharply distinguishes it from all anthropomorphic monkeys, and is very similar in all human races. The balance of the head, balancing on the cervical spine, is ensured in humans by the larger mass of the brain and the relatively small mass of the facial section.
The similarity is also noted in the structure of the foot and hand. Thus, the greater length of the first ray of the hand in relation to the others is present in all representatives of the races. This property is very important for a person’s work activity, as it is associated with the grasping ability of his hand. For Australians this figure is 61%, Africans - 62%, Eskimos - 62%, Europeans - 64% - racial differences in this regard are negligible.
The grasping ability of their legs was widely used to prove the closeness of dark-skinned races to monkeys. For example, the Papuans have greater mobility of the big toe than other races, so they widely use this property when performing various jobs. But Miklouho-Maclay also showed that the Papuans did not always possess this ability; it was acquired as a result of the characteristics of their culture and way of life.
When doing crafts, the use of the foot as an organ of work was also used in ancient Egypt, India and Japan. At the same time, it was morphologically proven that the freedom of movement of the big toe is limited by the transverse metatarsal ligament and the structure of the joint, both in the Papuans and in any other representative of human races. The monkey's foot has a different structure. The dexterity of the indigenous people of Australia when running up the smooth trunks of eucalyptus trees has nothing in common with the climbing of a monkey, since they use a special ax and loops.
The similarity and unity of races in the structure of the brain is also an argument in favor of the biological unity of humanity. Proponents of the polyphyletic origin of human races and racial inequality tried to prove that the brain of the European race has a more perfect structure than the brain of any other race. It was especially often claimed that Europeans have heavier brains. However, anatomical studies have shown that the average brain weight of a Japanese is 1374 g, a Russian - 1380 g, a Ukrainian - 1366 g, an African - 1316 g, and an Eskimo - 1563 g. In a study of a large group of Japanese (more than 5 thousand), it turned out that the weight their brains varied from 1359 to 1402. Thus, the differences obtained by comparing the brains of Europeans and Africans are no greater than the differences between different groups of Japanese. Therefore, they cannot be taken into account as significant indicators of racial characteristics.
Some researchers have tried to prove the presence of a “lower” type of structure of the sulci and convolutions of the brain in races of non-European origin. One of the characteristic features of the sulci of the human brain is the presence of two anterior branches arising from the Sylvian fissure. However, sometimes only one branch is observed. This feature was found in 20% of Poles, 28% of Estonians, 18% of the Dutch, 10% of the Chinese, and 27% of Africans. Obviously, there are no persistent and significant racial differences in the frequency of this feature.
Back in 1870, the Russian anatomist Betz confirmed the position that the distribution of convolutions in the brains of African blacks is the same as that of Europeans.
Data on the cytoarchitecture of the cerebral cortex indicate that racial differences do not concern the fine structures of the central nervous system.
There are no higher or lower races based on the intellectual and moral characteristics of people.
All modern people belong to the same species, called Homo sapiens, and come from the same root, have common essential qualities: consciousness, speech, work, individuality, freedom to choose the meaning of life and behavior options.
Rice. 6.20. Representatives of various peoples and ethnic groups.
Between populations - races living in different parts of the globe, only differences are found in the average values of secondary physical characteristics: hair shape, skin color, etc., therefore, from a biological point of view, these differences cannot create superiority or inferiority of a race.
In humans, the genetic composition of each population is subject to the influence of various factors of natural selection acting in the direction of adaptation to the geographic environment, random mutations consisting of changes in genes, DNA molecules, and finally, random changes in the frequency of qualitative hereditary traits, the probability of which depends on the size of the population and on composition of families within this population.
Large races occupy vast territories, covering peoples differing in language, culture, economy, etc. No national, religious, geographical, linguistic or cultural group constitutes a race in itself. The concept of race refers only to biological properties, not to psychological or cultural properties.
Hundreds of different peoples and ethnic groups are formed on the basis of one race. The most detailed classifications of anthropological types of the entire population of the Earth do not exceed one hundred morphological variants. The number of ethnic groups is much larger - over 2000. Hence the general conclusion: many ethnic groups have a similar anthropological composition.
The actual data accumulated by the social and natural sciences prove the patterns of formation of races and peoples, which in turn show the complete inconsistency of racist concepts.
In the UNESCO Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice of October 26, 1967, one of the final paragraphs reads: “Racial prejudice and racial discrimination in the modern world arise from historical and social phenomena, falsely covered by the authority of science. Therefore, biologists, sociologists, philosophers and related scientists must do everything possible to ensure that the results of their research are not misused by those who intend to promote racial prejudice and encourage discrimination." The fight against racism is the most important task of the entire progressive community of the world.
Questions and tasks for self-control
Give answers to security questions
1. By what criteria can humanity be classified, which of them are racial?
2. How is race different from nation?
3. Can different races be part of one nation? Explain.
4. What factors of raceogenesis do you know?
5. What classifications of races exist?
6. Is it possible to determine the race of a particular person?
7. Name the time of the birth of the first racial theories, give reasons.
8. What is racism?
9. What is the geographic distribution of the major racial divisions of humanity?
10. Do you think race is a myth or a reality?
Choose the correct answer
1. What physical characteristics of people can be considered racial
Race is a system of human populations, characterized by similarity in a set of certain hereditary biological characteristics, which have an external phenotypic manifestation and formed in a certain geographical region. Traits that characterize different races often arise as a result of adaptation to different environmental conditions over many generations. The criterion for distinguishing a race from a species is the absence of significant obstacles to the creation of fertile offspring, which leads to the formation of many transitional forms in the area of mixing races.
Morphological and, to a lesser extent, physiological characteristics make it possible to distinguish within humanity three main large races: Caucasian, Australo-Negroid and Mongoloid.
Caucasians have light or dark skin, straight or wavy hair, a narrow protruding nose, thin lips and developed hair on the face and body. U Mongoloids the skin can also be either light or dark, the hair is usually straight, coarse, darkly pigmented, the eyes are slanted and epicanthus. Negroids characterized by dark skin, curly or wavy hair, thick lips and a wide, slightly prominent nose.
Evidence of species unity and the same root origin of man and his races:
lack of genetic isolation;
the existence of intermediate (small) races;
significant morphofunctional similarity among representatives of different races;
the same (under similar conditions) level of physical and mental development.
Miscegenation is the mixing of different human races with each other. The descendants of these mixed marriages are called mestizos. Miscegenation has taken place since ancient times in areas of contact between different racial groups. It reached a significant scale in connection with the Great Geographical Discoveries of the 15th-17th centuries. and subsequent colonial expansion and the slave trade.
Race is a combination of hereditary characteristics with a certain heredity by which members of one race distinguish themselves from another.
Races differ from each other in physical characteristics - skin color, hair, eyes, hair shape, facial features, height, skull shape, etc. These characteristics are not significant for human life.
It should be especially noted that all human races belong to one species - Homo sapiens:
1) This is proven by the birth of fertile and full-fledged offspring in marriages between representatives of different races.
2) Straightened body position;
3) With regard to the signs of body structure - the grasping type of the upper limbs; associated with social and labor activities, all human races are extremely similar to each other.
4) developed speech function and abstract thinking.
5) the same (under similar conditions) level of physical and mental development.
All races are absolutely equal in biological and mental terms and are at the same level of evolutionary development. Representatives of all human races are equally capable of achieving the greatest heights in the development of culture and civilization.
There are differences between races and some physiological And biochemical parameters: the intensity of sweating per unit area of skin in Negroids is higher than in Caucasians, the average level of cholesterol in the blood plasma is highest in Caucasians.
Let us list the areas of settlement of the remaining 6 intermediate races.
Ethiopian race - east and northeast Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia).
South Indian (Dravidian) race - the southern part of the Hindustan Peninsula.
Ural race - east of the Pechora River and the upper reaches of the Kama River, Ural, Western Siberia to the mouth of the river. Hangars, along the river. Ob, lower reaches of the river. Tobol, middle and lower reaches of the river. Irtysh.
South Siberian race - from the lower reaches of the river. Volga further east to the upper reaches of the river. Ob, Caspian Lowland - north of the Aral Sea - Right Bank of the river. Syr-Darya - lake. Balkhash (mainly Kazakhstan).
Kuril race - Kuril Islands, southern part of Sakhalin, o. Hokkaido.
Polynesian race - islands of the western equatorial Pacific, New Zealand.
It was found that the karyotype of great apes differs in the number of chromosomes from the human karyotype by one pair (23 pairs of human chromosomes and 24 pairs of chimpanzees). Humans and chimpanzees have identical 13 pairs of chromosomes. The human chromosome 2 matches exactly the two chimpanzee chromosomes connected, and the remaining chromosomes differ only slightly from each other.
46. The main stages of anthropogenesis: pongid and hominid branches. Proanthropes (prehumans), archanthropes (ancient people), paleoanthropes (ancient people), neoanthropes (modern people). Features of morphology, lifestyle and work activity.
About 25 million years ago, two branches separated from higher hominoids, which led to the formation of two families: pongid And hominid.
The pongid (monkey) branch of evolution went in the direction of increasing adaptation to the arboreal lifestyle and led to the emergence of modern great apes. The other branch, the hominid (human) branch, is believed to have evolved in the direction of adaptation to a terrestrial lifestyle and led to humans.
Proanthropes.
Australopithecus
Homo habilis - Homo habilis
Walking upright, using various objects.
Making tools (choppers)
Archanthropes (ancient people)
Homo erectus - Homo erectus (Pithecanthropus, Sinanthropus), Homo Heidelbergensis - Homo heidelbergensis
Speech (primitive, consisting of individual shouts). Simple forms of collective activity, maintaining the fire
Paleoanthropes (ancient people)
Neanderthal man – Homo neanderthalensis
Speech (advanced forms such as babbling). Complex forms of collective activity (driven hunting), caring for others. Making fire.
Neoanthropes (new people)
Homo sapiens (Cro-Magnon)
Real speech. Thinking, art. Development of agriculture, crafts, religion.
The emergence of humans was associated with a number of significant anatomical and physiological modifications, including:
Structural transformations brain
Increase brain cavity And brain
Development of bipedal locomotion ( bipedalism)
Development of grasping brushes
Omission larynx And hyoid bone
Downsizing fangs
Appearance menstrual cycle
Reduction most of the hair.
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Prove that all human races belong to the same species - Homo sapiens.
WORK WITH COMPUTER
Refer to the disk. Study the lesson material and complete the assigned tasks.
http://www.africana.ru/science/news/030525 _metis. htm (Every fifth person is mixed race)
Race is a historically established group of people united by a common origin, territory of residence, common morphological and physiological hereditary characteristics, as well as customs and traditions. Currently, three large races are distinguished: Equatorial, Eurasian, and Asian-American. All races constitute one species - Homo sapiens.
HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY
Man has always sought to know his body. The origins of anatomy go back to distant prehistoric times. Rock paintings indicate that primitive hunters already knew about the location of vital organs and them significance for the body.
Information about the structure of the heart, lungs, kidneys and other organs is contained in the ancient books that have reached us: the Chinese “Neijing” (XI-VII centuries BC BC), Hindu “Ayur-Veda” (IX-111 centuries BC).
Among the first scientists known to history, one should first of all name the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates(460-377 BC). He formulated the doctrine of four body types and tempo of mind. In his works, he summarized all the scattered information about the structure of the human body obtained by his predecessors.
in the countries of the East. However, the Muslim religion, like the Christian religion, forbade dissecting corpses, so anatomy was studied from the books of Hippocrates, Aristotle, and Galen.
Scientist and doctor Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna)(980-1037) wrote the encyclopedic work “The Canon of Medical Science,” which contained a lot of medical information of that time. One of the chapters of this work is devoted to human anatomy. It gives general
Another famous scientist - Greek Aristotle(384-322 BC) gave the name to the main blood vessel - “aorta”, and noted common features in the structure of humans and animals. Aristotle argued that blood is formed in the liver and from there it flows to the heart - the source of feelings, where it warms up and flows through the veins to all organs of the body.
Ancient Roman doctor Claudius Galen(131-201) was the first to become interested in the functions of organs. Because of the ban on dissecting human corpses that existed at that time, Galen studied human anatomy by dissecting animals - pigs, dogs, sheep, monkeys: he was confident in the similarity of the structure of the bodies of animals and humans. For fourteen centuries his works were the main source of anatomical and medical knowledge.
In the era of early feudalism (V-X centuries), the dominance of the church slowed down the development of natural sciences in European countries. At the same time, these sciences developed rapidly
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description of the structure and functions of the human body, information about bones, joints, muscles, tendons, the structure of teeth, skull and nerves is provided.
At the beginning of the 11th millennium, the rapid development of trade, culture, and urban development began, and sciences developed, among them biology and medicine. The first medical schools appeared in Europe. The development of anatomy was facilitated by the discovery in Europe of XII-XIV centuries first universities. IN XIV-XV centuries Universities were given the right, by special order, to dissect one or two human corpses per year for educational purposes.
In 1326 Mondino da Liuzzi(1275-1327) published the first textbook on anatomy.
Anatomy, like other sciences, achieved particular success during the Renaissance. A particularly great contribution to the development of anatomy was made by Leonardo da Vinci(1452-1519) and Andreas Vesalius(1514-
The remarkable artist, mathematician, engineer Leonardo da Vinci studied the proportions of the body, was the first to classify muscles, made about 800 accurate drawings of bones, muscles, heart and other organs, and scientifically described them. These drawings were in various private collections for a long time, and only at the end of the 19th century. Leonardo's anatomical work became known. These drawings have not lost their educational significance even today.
A. Vesalius, in his work “On the Structure of the Human Body,” was the first to describe the systematic anatomy of a person (by system - bones, muscles, viscera, etc.), based on his own experience of dissecting corpses. It's no coincidence that's why
A. Vesalius is called the founder of modern systematic anatomy. At that time, anatomy was forbidden, and A. Vesalius was forced to secretly
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but, at the risk of life, to obtain corpses, removing them at night from the graves in the cemetery. In his anatomical works, A. Vesalius pointed out the anatomical mistakes of his predecessors, for which he was persecuted by his opponents and ill-wishers. Because of this, leaving the University of Padua, where he taught anatomy and surgery, A. Vesalius took the post of court physician.
Students and followers of A. Vesalius in the 16th-17th centuries. Many important discoveries were made and earlier mistakes were corrected. So, G. Fallopius(1523-1562) in “Anatomical Observations” for the first time carefully described the structure of many bones, muscles, organs of hearing, and vision. B. Eustachius(1510-1574) studied the anatomy of teeth, kidneys, veins, and the organ of hearing, and was engaged in comparative anatomy. I. Fabricius(1537-1619) studied the structure of the esophagus and larynx, described venous valves. The organs they described were named after these researchers: fallopian (uterine) tube, eustachian (auditory) tube, bursa of Fabricius.
In the XVII-XIX centuries. anatomy was enriched with new facts and discoveries. In 1628, the English scientist W. Harvey(1578-1657) in his book “Anatomical Studies on the Movement of the Heart and Blood in Animals” proved that blood moves in a vicious circle: through the arteries from the heart, through the veins to the heart. His works served to form an independent science about the work of organs - physiology.
Thanks to improvements in the microscope A. van Leeuwenhoek(1632-1723) the opportunity arose to study the microscopic structure of organs and tissues.
In 1661 M. Malpighi(1628-1694), while studying the lungs, discovered al
veoli and capillaries, which are the connecting link between the arteries and veins of the lungs. In 1685 G. Bidloo(1649-1713) proved that nerves consist of a collection of thin nerve fibers. K. M. Baer(1792-1876) discovered the human egg.
In Russia, the first anatomical information can be found already in ancient manuscripts of the 10th-11th centuries. Our first medical schools (academies) were opened in the 17th-17th centuries. In 1658 Epiphany Slavinetsky translated the works of Vesalius into Russian. The first domestic anatomists made a great contribution to the development of the science of the structure of the human body. A. P. Protasov(1724-1796) - author of many Russian anatomical terms, works on the human physique, structure and functions of the stomach. WITH. G. Zybelin(1735-1802) published the book “A Word about the composition of the human body and about ways to protect it from disease,” in his works
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The first textbooks on anatomy in Russia appeared at the beginning of the 19th century: manual P. A. Zagorsky(1764-1846) “Towards a knowledge of the structure of the human body”, “Anatomy Course” E. ABOUT. Mukhina(1766-1850) and
translated M. I. Shein(1712-1762) into Russian a work on the anatomy of Heister.
The creator of a new branch of science - topographic anatomy, which describes the relative position of internal organs relative to each other and in relation to the bones of the skeleton, and the doctrine of the location of the main blood vessels and nerve trunks was N. I. Pirogov(1810-1881).
P. F. Lesgaft(1837-1909) - author of many works on theoretical anatomy, in which he explored the relationship between the functions of organs and their structure.
A major role in the development of anatomy belongs to the professor at Moscow University D. N. Zernov(1843-1917). He studied the individual variability of the furrows and convolutions of the brain, the sensory organs, and published a textbook on human anatomy, which was reprinted 14 times. Kharkov anatomist V. P. Vorobiev(1876-1937) developed new methods for studying the nerves of the heart and stomach, and created the five-volume Atlas of Human Anatomy. Vorobyov invented a new embalming method, which was used to preserve the body of V. I. Lenin. A famous anatomist worked in St. Petersburg - Leningrad V. N. Tankov(1872-1954), who studied the circuitous paths of blood flow and the nerves of many organs. He is the author of a famous textbook on human anatomy.
In a small section it is impossible to describe the contribution that scientists have made to the development of knowledge about the structure of the human body.
Of all the sciences that study the human body, we will highlight the most important.
human anatomy(from the Greek “anatome” - opening, dissection) - the science of the structure of the human body.
Human physiology(from the Greek “physis” - nature) - the science of the functions of the human body and its organs.
Hygiene(from the Greek “hygienos” - healthy) - a science that studies the influence of the natural environment, work and everyday life on the human body in order to develop health measures.
We are all different: we differ from each other in eye color, hair color, skin tone, height, body weight, facial features. These are all individual differences. But there are signs that distinguish entire communities of people - races. Race is a historically established group of people united by a common origin, territory of residence, common morphological and physiological hereditary characteristics, as well as traditions and customs.
The question of the origin and classification of races has a long history. The first attempt to describe human races was made in the 17th century. Frenchman Bernier. Later, C. Linnaeus identified four races: American, European, Asian and African.
Currently, most scientists distinguish three large races and several dozen small ones. The major races are Equatorial (Australian-Negroid), Eurasian (Caucasoid) and Asian-American (Mongoloid).
Representatives of the equatorial race live mainly in the tropical regions of the Old World. They are characterized by dark skin, wavy or curly hair, a wide flattened nose with large nostrils, and thick lips.
The area of distribution of the Eurasian race is Europe, part of Asia, North Africa, America. Its representatives are characterized by light, sometimes dark skin, straight, sometimes wavy soft hair, a long nose, thin lips, and usually well-developed facial hair (mustache, beard).
The Asian-American race is common in America, Central and East Asia. Representatives of this race have straight, black, coarse hair, and their mustache and beard grow weakly. The skin is more dark than light. The Mongols have a nose of medium width and protrudes slightly, while the American Indians have a long, strongly protruding nose. The most characteristic features of this race are a wide face, prominent cheekbones, a narrow palpebral fissure, medium-thick lips, and a fold of skin at the inner corner of the eye formed by the skin of the upper eyelid (epicanthus).
However, even within the same race there are groups of people who differ from each other. For example, a Malay is not very similar in appearance to a Buryat or an Evenk. The Negroid pygmies from the banks of the Congo River differ from the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. Caucasians of Northern Europe (Norwegians, Swedes) - light-eyed, fair-haired, light-skinned - bear little resemblance to southerners, most of whom are brown-eyed and dark-skinned. Therefore, scientists identify several dozen smaller races - second and third order.
Currently, people are actively moving around the world, moving from place to place. For example, Caucasians live on all continents. Representatives of different races marry. Scientists believe that in Russia currently 45 million people belong to the transitional Caucasian-Mongolian type.
Races arose a long time ago. The first division into two large trunks, the Mongoloid and Caucasian-Negroid races, apparently occurred 90-92 thousand years ago. It is believed that the separation of Caucasians and Negroids occurred 50 thousand years ago.
Scientists are still arguing about the mechanism of race formation. Many characteristics of races are clearly adaptive in nature. Thus, the dark skin of Negroids protects them better from ultraviolet rays than the light skin of Caucasians. Curly hair serves as a good heat insulator in the sun. However, the definitive role of these traits remains unproven, since representatives of other races are currently living in the same conditions.
An important factor in the formation of races could be their isolation. It is easy to imagine that in some groups of people living isolated from the rest of the world, some new characteristics arose - the shape of the nose, lips, etc. People who were carriers of this trait married only within their group. Their offspring also married within this group. Over time, the new trait became the property of all members of this group.
Despite the differences between races, all modern humanity is represented by one species - Homo sapiens. This is confirmed primarily by the fact that fertile offspring are born to representatives of different races who marry.
For a long time, some scientists (and some still do) directly linked the biological characteristics of representatives of different races with the level of their culture, tried to compare peoples at different stages of development, people of different social status. These errors formed the basis of the theory of racism. Its supporters argued that there were superior and inferior races, and this justified the dominance of some peoples over others.
Test your knowledge
- What is race? How many races did C. Linnaeus identify?
- What races do modern scientists distinguish?
- What distinguishes representatives of the equatorial race?
- Where do representatives of the Eurasian race live?
- Representatives of which race have a well-developed epicanthus?
- How are representatives of the Eurasian race different?
- What race are American Indians?
- Try to describe the mechanism of race formation.
- How many species are there in humanity?
Think
Prove that all human races belong to the same species - Homo sapiens
Race is a historically established group of people united by a common origin, territory of residence, common morphological and physiological hereditary characteristics, as well as customs and traditions. Currently, there are three large races: Equatorial, Eurasian, and Asian-American. All races constitute one species - Homo sapiens.
Anthropology is the science of the emergence and development of man. The education of human races, their properties and characteristics is studied by its branch - race studies.
Humanity develops within one species, Homo sapiens, but over millennia, under the influence of climate, environmental conditions, and geographic location of the area, individual groups of people were endowed with characteristics that began to distinguish them from each other. This is how races were formed. Differences between people lie in different colors of the skin, irises of the eyes, shape of the nose, lips, hair structure, etc.
Basic evidence of the unity of human races
The kinship and unity of human races is based on a number of characteristics:
- Similarity of origin;
- the presence of the same morphological structure of organs and tissues;
- the possibility of crossing between races and the birth of normal offspring;
- the identity of the development of mental and physical abilities in the process of evolution.
Also, with the development of medicine and science, a number of studies have been conducted with the genetic material of people of different races. Scientists have found that the genetic nature of all peoples is the same. The only difference is the number that encode features. These characteristics serve as proof of the unity of the human races.
Large and small racial group
Scientists divide the population into racial groups: large and small.
Large group
The large group consists of three races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Equatorial (Negroid).
People who are included in Caucasian race(Eurasian, Caucasian) inhabit the European region, South Asian territory, North Africa, it represents 50% of the earth's population. Recognizable features: the skin is light in color (in the northern part) and has a darkish tint in the south, smooth or slightly curled hair is characteristic, soft to the touch, the nose protrudes, the forehead is straight. The male half has thick hair, a mustache, and a beard.
Mongoloid race(Asian, American) represented by the indigenous people of central Asia, Indonesia, America (Indians). Distinctive characteristics: dark skin, fold on the upper eyelid, slanted (the inner corner of the eyeball is located below the outer), narrow eyes, predominantly black or brown. Thickened nostrils, a wide nose, developed cheekbones, a large face, straight, coarse hair are signs of a Mongoloid.
There is a hypothesis about the origin of the Mongoloids, which states that a large Mongoloid group originated in the steppes of central Asia, in desert places where winds, dust storms, and sudden changes in temperature were a constant phenomenon. The habitat determined the external characteristics of the Mongoloids: narrow, squinted eyes, epicanthus - the fold of the upper eyelid (protective mechanisms).
Equatorial race(African, Australian) lives near the equator, on the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The equatorial group is characterized by: dark skin color (protection from the scorching sun), curly, kinky hair with a coarse structure, full lips, a flat and wide nose (allows you to regulate temperature in a hot climate). The hairline is poorly developed on the face and body.
External signs Small group
The formation of small races occurred due to genetic fusion between the peoples of large races and the settlement of people to all corners of the Earth, where people developed new characteristics for adaptation.
The Caucasian race includes the following subraces:
- Atlantic;
- Baltic;
- White Sea-Baltic;
- Central European (dominates in numbers);
- Mediterranean.
The Mongoloid race is divided into:
- South Asian;
- North Chinese;
- East Asian;
- Arctic;
- American (some authors classify it as large).
The predominant Mongoloids are the Chinese, the Korean population, and the Japanese, who are included in the East Asian subrace.
The Negroid race is divided into:
- Negro;
- Bushman;
- Australian;
- Melanesian.
Branch of minor races Origin of races
The formation of modern racial characteristics began long before our era (80-100 thousand years ago), then the Earth was inhabited by two racial groups - Negroid and Caucasoid-Mongoloid. The collapse of the latter into Mongoloid and Caucasoid occurred 45 thousand years ago.
Due to the influence of climate and the influence of society during the Neolithic period, each group of people began to acquire characteristic characteristics. Isolated pure races existed for a long period. Since the population on the planet was small and the territory was quite large, there was no relationship between representatives of the races.
In the process of development, evolutionary growth, the emergence of communication links, people migrated, which resulted in the emergence of small races. Children born to people of different racial backgrounds had characteristics of both groups and were named accordingly.
- Mulattos– is a mixture of Negroid and Caucasian races;
- mestizos- children of Mongoloids and Caucasians;
- sambo- the offspring of Mongoloids and Negroids.
Theories of the origin of human races
Two theories about the origin of human races dominate among scientists: polycentric and monocentric.
Supporters polycentric theory origins say that humanity originated in different parts of the world and developed independently, independently on its own territory. Races were formed in parallel over many decades.
Monocentric theory considers the origin of races as the dispersal of the primitive ancestors of humanity who lived in East Africa to all parts of the Earth. Most scientists question this version.
At the present stage of development, the line between the differences between species groups of people is gradually blurring. Constant mixing, migration, modern adaptation of people to bad weather conditions, lack of isolation of peoples is the path to the disappearance of racial differences. People are increasingly realizing that human races are one, people are built the same, despite the color of their skin, the shape of their eyes, and race does not make any sense.
Racism
The formation of distinctive features is associated with their habitat and environmental conditions.
Dark skin protects the body from the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays, coarse, curly hair create an air cushion - it prevents overheating, wide nostrils cools the inhaled air, and bright skin Northern residents need it to produce vitamin D, which is synthesized under the influence of sunlight.
These signs are necessary for people to function normally and survive, and do not serve as criteria for the dominance or mental advantage of a particular race. Humanity is at the same stage of development and differences in economic level and cultural achievements are not related to race.
Racists who put forward theories about the superiority of some races over others used this for their own purposes. The displacement of indigenous people from their habitats, the outbreak of wars, and the seizure of territory are the main reasons for the development of racism in the 19th century.
