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.

Racial classifications group the human population according to the racial types of individuals or the external features characteristic of populations. They differ in the principles of construction and the data used, the groups included and the features underlying them.

Up to the present day, attempts to build a more and more complete and objective classification of human races have occupied a significant place in anthropological literature. Basically they were based on morphology. The problem of the number of main races is still actively debated.

Classification by A. I. Dubov

In 1994, at the international conference in memory of V.P. Alekseev, A.I. Dubov presented his own scheme for the division of human races in his report. He divided the races into original and mestizo. Mestizo races are those whose main morphological characteristics cannot be obtained as a result of the mestizo of modern races. The scheme of A. I. Dubov is as follows:

Tropical (Negroid) subspecies

Khoisan race

Negril race

Negro race

Sahelian (Ethiopian) mestizo race

Papuan-Melanesian mestizo race

Southern subspecies

Vedoid race

australoid race

Dravidian mestizo race

Polynesian mestizo race

Western subspecies

South European race

Northern European race

Middle European mestizo race

Ural mestizo race

Eastern subspecies

Mongoloid race

Southern Mongoloid mestizo race

American mestizo race

23. The main somatometric signs that determine a person's belonging to a particular race

Race differences (color of skin, eyes, hair, skull shape, body length, etc.) are of secondary importance, all races have equal biological capabilities to achieve a high level of civilization.

Human races, systematic subdivisions within the species Homo sapiens. The concept of "race" is based on the biological, primarily physical similarity of people and the commonality of the territory (range) inhabited by them in the past or present. The race is characterized by a complex of inherited traits, which include the color of the skin, hair, eyes, the shape of the hair, the soft parts of the face, the skull, partly height, body proportions, etc. But since most of these traits in humans are subject to variability, and between races there have been and are (crossbreeding), a particular individual rarely possesses the entire set of typical racial characteristics.

24. The main morphological features of the human skeleton and soft parts of the face, which determine the person's belonging to a particular race

All existing Biological Diversity of Mankind at the level of Groups of People (Populations) can be described using the Isolation of special Anthropological Categories - Human Races. The term "Race" is usually understood as the System of Human Populations, characterized by the Similarity in the Complex of Certain Hereditary Biological Characteristics (Racial Characteristics), occupying a certain Geographical Area. From the point of view of Biological Systematics, Races correspond to the Level of Subspecies belonging to the same Single Biological Species - “Homo Sapiens” (“Reasonable Man”). Race is a purely biological concept and is distinguished only by biological (namely, by morphophysiological) characteristics. Usually the Races of Humans are distinguished by the following Features:

Signs of Physical Structure;

Traits transmitted by inheritance;

Signs, the severity of which during ontogenesis depends little on the environment;

Features associated with a certain Area (Distribution Zone);

Signs that distinguish one Territorial Group of People from another.

Classical Racial Traits include Appearance Traits - the color and shape of the Eyes, Lips, Nose, Hair, Skin color, the structure of the Face as a whole, the shape of the Head. Additionally, Signs of the Body Structure are used - Height, Weight, Physique, Proportions, Lines on the Skin of the Arms and Legs. Within each Group of People connected by Origin and Kinship, the Complexes of Racial Characteristics are stable, which makes it possible to single out characteristic Combinations - "Racial Types". Some Signs are more stable than others, changing in just a few Generations due to different Reasons. Because of this, during Migration, Mixing and Genetic Processes within Populations, Characters change unevenly, creating additional Diversity.

The most stable Traits make it possible to single out several main Races of the "Big" order ("Big Races"), which include Races of the "Small" order ("Small Races"), distinguished on the basis of more variable Traits. The stable, long-established Traits of the Races are distributed almost continuously over vast Territories, such as the color of the Skin, the shape of the Hair, the degree of Flattening or Prominence of the Face. From them one can determine the Primary Centers for the Formation of Races. Variable Traits of Races are distributed discretely, in separate Hearths, their values ​​can change noticeably in relatively small Territories or, on the contrary, coincide by chance in very remote Regions. These are, for example, the shape of the Head, the length of the Body, the shape of the Nose.

In total, 4 Great Morphological Races have formed in Man:

Light (Caucasoid);

Dark (Negroid);

Narrow-eyed (Mongoloid);

Primitive (Australoid).

The Light Race is characterized by a Face that protrudes slightly forward in the vertical plane ("Orthognathism"), straight or wavy Hair, usually soft (especially in northern groups), large superciliary ridges, wide slit Eyes (although the palpebral fissure may be small), large and sharp protruding Nose with a high bridge of nose, small or medium thickness of the Lips, strong growth of the Beard and Mustache, wide hands and feet. Skin, Hair and Eye Color varies from very light shades in northern Populations to relatively dark shades in southern and eastern Populations.

The Dark Race is characterized by very dark Skin, Hair and Eyes, elongation of the Head (Skull) shape in the horizontal plane ("Dolichocephaly"), a strong Protrusion of the Face in the vertical plane ("Prognathism"), curly Hair, a wide slit of the Eyes, a large interorbital space, wide Nose, thick Lips, elongated Body, narrow hands and narrow feet.

Typical Characteristics of the Narrow-Eyed Race are a flattened Face with prominent Cheekbones, a narrow slit in the Eyes, and the frequent presence of a Crease at the corners of the Eyes ("Epicanthus"). The face is tall with slight to moderate protrusion in the vertical plane ("Orthognathism" or "Mesognathism"), with prominent subcutaneous fat. Hair and Eye Color almost always black, Skin color from light in Northern Groups to swarthy in Southern Groups, but never very dark. The hair is usually straight or slightly wavy, and the growth of the Beard, Mustache and Body Hair is very weak. The degree of Prominence of the Nose is variable (but often slight), the bridge of the nose is concave, the thickness of the Lips is small to medium, the Body is stocky, and the Legs are relatively short.

The Main Races were formed at the Stage of “House of Reason” from 300 thousand years to 15 thousand years ago, and the main role in the Formation of morphological racial Differences was played by qualitative Differences in Habitat Conditions, which determined the Features of the External Appearance of modern People. At the same time, in all Morphological Races, the Habitat Conditions had a Destructive Influence - the basic External Appearance of a Human (corresponding to the Light Race) acquired various Defects. In other words, the basic Appearance of a Man, depending on the qualitative Features of the Habitat, received certain Deviations: the Dark Race - dark Skin color, the Narrow-eyed Race - a narrow section of the Eyes, the Primitive Race - rough features of the Face, etc. The Light Race did not receive significant Defects, because they lived in the conditions of the Absence of Excess Solar Radiation and desert spaces.

Large Morphological Races, in turn, are divided into Small Morphological Races (Atlanto-Baltic, Indo-Mediterranean, White Sea-Baltic, Central European, Balkan-Caucasian, Negro, Pygmy, Bushman, Arctic, North Asian, Far Eastern, South Asian, American, Australian, Vedoid, Melanesian). In addition, you can still distinguish Mixed Races (Ural, Turan, Kuril, Polynesian, Dravidian, Ethiopian).

In the History of Mankind there was no Period of Existence of "pure" Races, therefore, among Modern Mankind there are no "higher", "lower", "ancient" or "new" Morphological Races. All Races of Humans are equal in their Abilities and in their Intellectual Capabilities. Morphophysiological Differences of representatives of different Races reflect the Specificity of Adaptation to the Conditions of the External Environment and do not concern the Qualities of the Psych and Intellect. There are no fundamental Differences between People of different Morphological Races in such vital Human Qualities as Intelligence, Speech Ability, Cultural Perception, Social Qualities.

Generally speaking, one must clearly distinguish between Biological and Social Classifications of Human Groups. Social Unification of People on the basis of common Self-Consciousness and Self-Determination is called "Ethnos" (or "Ethnic Group"). It is also produced on the basis of Language, Culture, Traditions, Religion, etc. One of the simplest Forms of the Ethnic Social Organization of People is the "Tribe". A higher Level of Social Organization is called "People" (or "People"), which, in turn, unite into "Nations". Representatives of the same Tribe or other small Ethnic Group usually belong to the same Morphological Type, since they are Kinsmen to one degree or another. Representatives of one Nation can already differ markedly morphologically, at the level of different Minor Races, although, as a rule, within the same Great Race. The Nation unites People already absolutely irrespective of their racial affiliation, since it includes different Peoples. It is important that none of the above Phenomena is associated with the Biological Properties of People, and, therefore, cannot serve as the Basis for the Objective Classification of People based on Genotypes.

The Racial Classification undoubtedly reflects the History of the Gene Pool of Mankind and the Formation of its Division into genetically unique Groups, or in other words, that the Great Morphological Races have a deep "Genetic Foundation". Therefore, the Racial Level of Human Organization is genetically significant even in the Analysis of Individual Genomic Diversity. However, the Racial Classification is based only on that Part of the Genes that underlie the Racial Traits, which determine only some Morphophysiological Features of the Human Organism. Since these Genes cover a relatively small part of the entire Human Genome, Morphological Races also describe an insignificant Part of the entire Gene Pool of Human Populations. And you need to know exactly how objective the Identification of Morphological Races is itself - are they really existing and sufficient Biological Categories for a true Classification of People?

The obvious Difference of People in Morphophysiological Racial Characteristics once again confirms the fact that among People there are Typical Groups that have a Biological Origin and remain unchanged in the Reproduction Process, since they are fixed in the Human Genome in the form of Separate Gene Complexes (Genetic Types). However, this does not allow an objective description of the Individual Differences of Humans based on Morphological Races, as they are too vague within the existing Racial Classifications of Humans. There are a significant number of smooth Transitions between the Morphological Races of a Human, and the population Essence of the Race does not allow one to correctly operate this term in relation to specific Individuals. In addition, the Morphophysiological Signs of a Person also have Age Variability.

The existing Morphophysiological Diversity of Mankind is its Wealth, but Morphological Races are clearly not suitable for an objective Classification of Genetic Types of Man. Morphological Differences of Genetic Types are manifested in the Outward Appearance of a Person, but these are just Varieties of Genetic Types of a Person according to the Features of the External Appearance (Skin color, Eye shape, etc.), therefore, the Classification of Genetic Types of a Person should be based on other, more significant Grounds , namely those Qualities by which Man differs from other Living Beings - Mental, Intellectual, Speech, Labor

The population of our planet is so diverse that one can only be surprised. What kind of nationalities, nationalities you will not meet! Everyone has their own faith, customs, traditions, orders. Its beautiful and unusual culture. However, all these differences are formed only by the people themselves in the process of social historical development. And what underlies the differences that appear externally? After all, we are all very different:

• blacks;
• yellow-skinned;
• white;
• with different eye colors
• various heights, etc.

It is obvious that the reasons are purely biological, not dependent on the people themselves and formed over thousands of years of evolution. This is how the modern races of man were formed, which theoretically explain the visual diversity of human morphology. Let us consider in more detail what this term is, what is its essence and meaning.

The concept of "race of people"

What is a race? It is not a nation, not a people, not a culture. These concepts should not be confused. After all, representatives of different nationalities and cultures can freely belong to the same race. Therefore, the definition can be given such as the science of biology gives.

Human races are a set of external morphological features, that is, those that are the phenotype of a representative. They were formed under the influence of external conditions, the impact of a complex of biotic and abiotic factors, and were fixed in the genotype during evolutionary processes. Thus, the signs that underlie the division of people into races should include:

• growth;
• skin and eye color;
• structure and shape of hair;
• hairiness of the skin;
• features of the structure of the face and its parts.

All those signs of Homo sapiens as a biological species that lead to the formation of the external appearance of a person, but do not affect his personal, spiritual and social qualities and manifestations, as well as the level of self-development and self-education.

People of different races have a completely identical biological springboard for the development of certain abilities. Their general karyotype is the same:

• women - 46 chromosomes, that is, 23 pairs of XX;
• men - 46 chromosomes, 22 pairs XX, 23 pairs - XY.

This means that all representatives of a reasonable person are one and the same, among them there are no more or less developed, superior to others, higher. From a scientific point of view, everyone is equal.

Types of human races, formed over about 80 thousand years, have an adaptive value. It is proved that each of them was formed in order to provide a person with the possibility of a normal existence in a given habitat, to facilitate adaptability to climatic, relief and other conditions. There is a classification showing which races of Homo sapiens existed before, and which are at the present time.

Race classification

She is not alone. The thing is that until the 20th century it was customary to distinguish 4 races of people. These were the following varieties:

• Caucasian;
• australoid;
• negroid;
• Mongoloid.

For each, detailed characteristic features were described by which any individual of the human species could be identified. However, later the classification became widespread, which includes only 3 human races. This became possible due to the unification of the Australoid and Negroid groups into one.

Therefore, the modern types of human races are as follows.

1. Large: Caucasoid (European), Mongoloid (Asian-American), Equatorial (Australian-Negroid).
2. Small: many different branches that were formed from one of the large races.

Each of them is characterized by its own characteristics, signs, external manifestations in the appearance of people. All of them are considered by anthropologists, and the science itself that studies this issue is biology. Human races have interested people since ancient times. Indeed, completely contrasting external features often became the cause of racial strife and conflict.

Genetic studies of recent years allow again to talk about the division of the equatorial group into two. Consider all 4 races of people who stood out earlier and have become relevant again recently. We note the signs and features.

australoid race

Typical representatives of this group include the indigenous people of Australia, Melanesia, Southeast Asia, and India. Also the name of this race is Australo-Veddoid or Australo-Melanesian. All synonyms make it clear which minor races are included in this group. They are the following:

• australoids;
• veddoids;
• Melanesians.

In general, the characteristics of each group represented do not vary too much among themselves. There are several main features that characterize all small races of people of the Australoid group.

1. Dolichocephaly - an elongated shape of the skull in relation to the proportions of the rest of the body.
2. Deep-set eyes, wide slit. The color of the iris is predominantly dark, sometimes almost black.
3. The nose is wide, the bridge of the nose is pronounced flat.
4. The body hair is very well developed.
5. The hair on the head is dark in color (sometimes natural blonds are found among Australians, which was the result of a once-fixed natural genetic mutation of the species). Their structure is rigid, they can be curly or slightly curly.
6. The growth of people is average, often above average.
7. The physique is thin, elongated.

Within the Australoid group, people of different races differ from each other sometimes quite strongly. So, a native of Australia can be a tall blonde with a dense build, with straight hair, with light brown eyes. At the same time, the Melanesian will be a thin, short dark-skinned representative who has curly black hair and almost black eyes.

Therefore, the general features described above for the entire race are only an average version of their cumulative analysis. Naturally, miscegenation also takes place - a mixture of different groups as a result of natural crossing of species. That is why it is sometimes very difficult to identify a specific representative and attribute him to one or another small and large race.

Negroid race

The people who make up this group are the settlers of the following territories:

• Eastern, Central and Southern Africa;
• part of Brazil;
• some peoples of the USA;
• representatives of the West Indies.

In general, such races of people as Australoids and Negroids used to unite in the equatorial group. However, research in the 21st century has proved the failure of this order. After all, the differences in the signs shown between the designated races are too great. And some similarities are explained very simply. After all, the habitats of these individuals are very similar in terms of the conditions of existence, therefore, the adaptations in appearance are also close.

So, the representatives of the Negroid race are characterized by the following signs.

1. Very dark, sometimes blue-black, skin color, as it is especially rich in melanin content.
2. Wide eye slit. They are large, dark brown, almost black.
3. The hair is dark, curly, coarse.
4. Growth varies, often low.
5. The limbs are very long, especially the arms.
6. The nose is wide and flat, the lips are very thick, fleshy.
7. The jaw is devoid of a chin protrusion and protrudes forward.
8. Ears are large.
9. Facial hair is poorly developed, beard and mustache are absent.

Negroids are easy to distinguish from others by external data. Below are the different races of people. The photo reflects how clearly Negroids differ from Europeans and Mongoloids.

Mongoloid race

Representatives of this group are characterized by special features that allow them to adapt to rather difficult external conditions: desert sands and winds, blinding snow drifts, and so on.

Mongoloids are the indigenous people of Asia and much of America. Their characteristic features are as follows.

1. Narrow or slanting eyes.
2. The presence of epicanthus - a specialized skin fold aimed at covering the inner corner of the eye.
3. The color of the iris is light to dark brown.
4. characterized by brachycephaly (short head).
5. Superciliary ridges thickened, strongly protruding.
6. Sharp high cheekbones are well defined.
7. The hairline on the face is poorly developed.
8. The hair on the head is coarse, dark in color, of a straight structure.
9. The nose is not wide, the bridge of the nose is low.
10. Lips of different thickness, usually narrow.
11. Skin color varies in different representatives from yellow to swarthy, there are also fair-skinned people.

It should be noted that another characteristic feature is short stature, both in men and women. It is the Mongoloid group that prevails in numbers, if we compare the main races of people. They populated almost all climatographic zones of the Earth. Close to them in terms of quantitative characteristics are Caucasians, which we will consider below.

Caucasian race

First of all, we will designate the predominant habitats of people from this group. It:

• Europe.
• North Africa.
• Western Asia.

Thus, representatives unite the two main parts of the world - Europe and Asia. Since the living conditions were also very different, then the general signs are again an average option after analyzing all the indicators. Thus, the following features of appearance can be distinguished.

1. Mesocephaly - medium head in the structure of the skull.
2. Horizontal section of the eyes, absence of strongly pronounced superciliary ridges.
3. Narrow protruding nose.
4. Lips of different thickness, usually of medium size.
5. Soft curly or straight hair. There are blondes, brunettes, brown-haired.
6. Eye color from light blue to brown.
7. Skin color also varies from pale, white to swarthy.
8. The hairline is very well developed, especially on the chest and face of men.
9. The jaws are orthognathic, that is, slightly pushed forward.

In general, a European is easy to distinguish from others. Appearance allows you to do this almost unmistakably, even without using additional genetic data.

If you look at all the races of people, the photo of whose representatives is located below, the difference becomes obvious. However, sometimes the signs are mixed so deeply that the identification of the individual becomes almost impossible. He is able to belong to two races at once. This is further aggravated by intraspecific mutation, which leads to the appearance of new traits.

For example, Negroid albinos are a special case of the appearance of blonds in the Negroid race. A genetic mutation that disrupts the integrity of racial traits in a given group.

Origin of human races

Where did such a variety of signs of the appearance of people come from? There are two main hypotheses that explain the origin of human races. It:

• monocentrism;
• polycentrism.

However, none of them has yet become an officially accepted theory. According to the monocentric point of view, initially, about 80 thousand years ago, all people lived in the same territory, and therefore their appearance was approximately the same. However, over time, growing numbers have led to a wider settlement of people. As a result, some groups found themselves in difficult climatic conditions.

This led to the development and fixation at the genetic level of some morphological adaptations that help in survival. For example, dark skin and curly hair provide thermoregulation and a cooling effect on the head and body in Negroids. And the narrow cut of the eyes protects them from sand and dust, as well as from blinding by white snow among the Mongoloids. The developed hairline of Europeans is a kind of thermal insulation in severe winters.

Another hypothesis is called polycentrism. She says that different types of human races descended from several ancestral groups that were unevenly settled around the globe. That is, there were initially several foci, from which the development and consolidation of racial characteristics began. Again, under the influence of climatic conditions.

That is, the process of evolution proceeded linearly, simultaneously affecting aspects of life on different continents. This is how the formation of modern types of people from several phylogenetic lines took place. However, it is not necessary to state for sure about the validity of this or that hypothesis, since there is no evidence of a biological and genetic nature, at the molecular level.

Modern classification

The races of people according to the estimates of current scientists have the following classification. Two trunks stand out, and each of them has three large races and many small ones. It looks like this.

1. Western trunk. Includes three races:

• Caucasians;
• capoids;
• negroids.

The main groups of Caucasians: Nordic, Alpine, Dinaric, Mediterranean, Falian, East Baltic and others.

Minor races of capoids: Bushmen and Khoisans. They inhabit South Africa. In the fold above the eyelids, they are similar to the Mongoloids, but in other ways they differ sharply from them. The skin is not elastic, which is why the appearance of early wrinkles is characteristic of all representatives.

Groups of Negroids: Pygmies, Nilots, Negroes. All of them are settlers of different parts of Africa, therefore they have similar signs of appearance. Very dark eyes, the same skin and hair. Thick lips and no chin protrusion.

2. Eastern trunk. Includes the following major races:

• australoids;
• americanoids;
• Mongoloids.

Mongoloids - are divided into two groups - northern and southern. These are the indigenous inhabitants of the Gobi Desert, which left its mark on the appearance of these people.

Americanoids are the population of North and South America. They have a very high growth, the epicanthus is often developed, especially in children. However, the eyes are not as narrow as those of the Mongoloids. Combine the characteristics of several races.

Australoids consist of several groups:

• Melanesians;
• veddoids;
• Ainu;
• Polynesians;
• Australians.

Their characteristic features have been discussed above.

Minor races

This concept is a rather highly specialized term that allows you to identify any person to any race. After all, each big one is subdivided into many small ones, and they are already compiled on the basis of not only small external distinguishing features, but also include data from genetic studies, clinical analyzes, and molecular biology facts.

Therefore, small races - this is what allows you to more accurately reflect the position of each individual in the system of the organic world, and specifically, in the composition of the species Homo sapiens sapiens. What specific groups exist was discussed above.

Racism

As we found out, there are different races of people. Their signs can be strongly polar. This is what led to the emergence of the theory of racism. She says that one race is superior to another, since it is made up of more highly organized and perfect beings. At one time, this led to the appearance of slaves and their white masters.

However, from the point of view of science, this theory is completely absurd and untenable. The genetic predisposition to the development of certain skills and abilities is the same for all peoples. The proof that all races are biologically equal is the possibility of free interbreeding between them with the preservation of the health and viability of the offspring.

Lesson Plan

1. What human races do you know?
2. What factors cause the evolutionary process?
3. What influences the formation of the gene pool of a population?

What are human races?

Human predecessors are Australopithecus;
- the most ancient people - progressive australopithecines, archanthropes (pithecanthropes, synanthropes, Heidelberg man, etc.);
- ancient people - paleoanthropes (Neanderthals);
- fossil people of the modern anatomical type - neoanthropes (Cro-Magnons).

The historical development of man was carried out under the influence of the same factors of biological evolution as the formation of other types of living organisms. However, a person is characterized by such a unique phenomenon for wildlife as an increasing influence on the anthropogenesis of social factors (labor activity, social lifestyle, speech and thinking).

For a modern person, social and labor relations have become leading and determining.

As a result of social development Homo sapiens has acquired unconditional advantages among all living beings. But this does not mean that the emergence of the social sphere canceled the action of biological factors. The social sphere only changed their manifestation. Homo sapiens as a species is an integral part of the biosphere and a product of its evolution.

These are historically formed groupings (groups of populations) of people, characterized by the similarity of morphological and physiological features. Racial differences are the result of people's adaptation to certain conditions of existence, as well as the historical and socio-economic development of human society.

There are three large races: Caucasoid (Eurasian), Mongoloid (Asian-American) and Australo-Negroid (Equatorial).

Chapter 8

Fundamentals of ecology

After reading this chapter, you will learn:

What does ecology study and why does every person need to know its basics;
- what is the significance of environmental factors: abiatic, biotic and anthropogenic;
- what role do the environmental conditions and internal properties of the population group play in the processes of change in its size over time;
- about different types of interactions of organisms;
- about the features of competitive relations and factors that determine the outcome of competition;
- on the composition and basic properties of the ecosystem;
- about energy flows and the circulation of substances that ensure the functioning of systems, and about the role in these processes

Even in the middle of the XX century. the word ecology was known only to specialists, but now it has become very popular; most often it is used, speaking about the unfavorable state of the nature around us.

Sometimes this term is used in combination with words such as society, family, culture, health. Is ecology really such a vast science that it can cover most of the problems facing humanity?

Kamensky A. A., Kriksunov E. V., Pasechnik V. V. Biology Grade 10
Submitted by readers from the website

Man represents one biological species, but why are we all so different? It's all the fault of various subspecies, that is, races. How many of them exist and what is mixed let's try to figure it out further.

The concept of race

The human race is a group of people who have a number of similar traits that are inherited. The concept of race gave impetus to the movement of racism, which is based on confidence in the genetic difference between races, the mental and physical superiority of some races over others.

Research in the 20th century showed that it is impossible to distinguish them genetically. Most of the differences are external, and their diversity can be explained by the characteristics of the habitat. For example, white skin promotes better absorption of vitamin D, and it appeared as a result of a lack of daylight.

Recently, scientists more often support the opinion that this term is irrelevant. Man is a complex creature, his formation is influenced not only by climatic and geographical factors, which largely determine the concept of race, but also by cultural, social and political ones. The latter contributed to the emergence of mixed and transitional races, further blurring all boundaries.

big races

Despite the general fuzziness of the concept, scientists are still trying to figure out why we are all so different. There are many concepts of classification. All of them agree that man is a single biological species of Homo sapiens, which is represented by various subspecies or populations.

Variants of differentiation range from two independent races to fifteen, not to mention the many sub-races. Most often in the scientific literature they talk about the existence of three or four large races, which include small ones. So, according to external signs, the Caucasoid type, Mongoloid, Negroid, and also Australoid are distinguished.

Caucasoids are divided into northern ones - with blond hair and skin, gray or blue eyes, and southern ones - with swarthy skin, dark hair, brown eyes. It is characterized by a narrow slit of the eyes, protruding cheekbones, coarse straight hair, vegetation on the body is insignificant.

The Australoid race was long considered Negroid, but it turned out that they have differences. By signs, the Veddoid and Melanesian races are much closer to it. Australoids and Negroids have dark skin, dark eye color. Although some Australoids may have fair skin. They differ from Negroids in their abundant hairline, as well as less wavy hair.

Minor and mixed races

Large races are too strong a generalization, because the differences between people are more subtle. Therefore, each of them is divided into several anthropological types, or into small races. There are a huge number of them. For example, the Negro, Khoisai, Ethiopian, Pygmy types are included.

The term "mixed races" more often means populations of people that arose as a result of recent (since the 16th century) contacts of large races. These include mestizos, sambos, mulattoes.

Metis

In anthropology, mestizos are all descendants of marriages of people belonging to different races, regardless of which ones. The process itself is called metization. History knows many cases when representatives of mixed races were discriminated against, humiliated and even exterminated in the course of Nazi policy in Germany, apartheid in South Africa and other movements.

In many countries, the descendants of specific races are also called mestizos. In America, they are the children of Indians and Caucasians, in this sense the term has come to us. They are mainly distributed in South and North America.

The number of mestizos in Canada, in the narrow sense of the term, is 500-700 thousand people. Active mixing of blood here took place during colonization, mainly European men entered into contact with. Separated, the mestizos formed a separate ethnic group speaking the Mythic language (a complex mixture of French and Cree).

Mulattos

The descendants of Negroids and Caucasians are mulattoes. Their skin is light black, which is what the name of the term conveys. The name first appeared around the 16th century, coming into Spanish or Portuguese from Arabic. The word muwallad used to be used to refer to unpurebred Arabs.

In Africa, mulattoes live mainly in Namibia, South Africa. A fairly large number of them live in the Caribbean region and Latin America. In Brazil, they make up almost 40% of the total population, in Cuba - more than half. A significant number live in the Dominican Republic - more than 75% of the population.

Mixed races used to have other names, depending on the generation and the proportion of Negroid genetic material. If Caucasoid blood was related to Negroid as ¼ (mulatto in the second generation), then the person was called a quadroon. The ratio 1/8 was called octon, 7/8 - marabou, 3/4 - griff.

Sambo

The genetic mixture of Negroids and Indians is called sambo. In Spanish, the term sounds like "zambo". Like other mixed races, the term periodically changed its meaning. Previously, the name sambo meant marriages between representatives of the Negroid race and mulattoes.

Sambo first appeared in South America. The Indians represented the indigenous population of the mainland, and blacks were brought as slaves to work on sugar cane plantations. Slaves were brought from the beginning of the 16th century until the end of the 19th. During this period, approximately 3 million people were transported from Africa.

Race- this is a group of people united on the basis of their mutual relationship, common origin and some external hereditary physical characteristics (skin and hair color, head shape, structure of the face as a whole and its parts - nose, lips, etc.). There are three main races of people: Caucasoid (white), Mongoloid (yellow), Negroid (black).

The ancestors of all races lived 90-92 thousand years ago. Starting from that time, people began to settle in territories that differ sharply from each other in terms of natural conditions.

According to scientists, in the process of the formation of modern man in Southeast Asia and neighboring North Africa, which are considered the ancestral home of man, two races arose - southwestern and northeastern. Subsequently, Caucasoids and Negroids descended from the first, and Mongoloids from the second.

The separation of the Caucasoid and Negroid races began about 40 thousand years ago.

Displacement of recessive genes to the outskirts of the population range

The outstanding geneticist N. I. Vavilov in 1927 discovered the law of the exit of individuals with recessive traits beyond the center of origin of new forms of organisms. According to this law, forms with dominant traits dominate in the center of the species distribution area, they are surrounded by heterozygous forms with recessive traits. The marginal part of the range is occupied by homozygous forms with recessive traits.

This law is closely connected with the anthropological observations of N. I. Vavilov. In 1924, the expedition members under his leadership witnessed an amazing phenomenon in Kafiristan (Nuristan), located in Afghanistan at an altitude of 3500-4000 m. They found that most of the inhabitants of the northern highlands had blue eyes. According to the hypothesis prevailing at that time, northern races were widespread here from ancient times and these places were considered a center of culture. N. I. Vavilov noted the impossibility of confirming this hypothesis with the help of historical, ethnographic and linguistic evidence. In his opinion, the blue eyes of the Nuristanis are a clear manifestation of the law of the exit of the owners of recessive genes to the outskirts of the range. Later this law was convincingly confirmed. N. Cheboksarov on the example of the population of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The origin of the signs of the Caucasian race is explained by migration and isolation.

All mankind can be divided into three large groups, or races: white (Caucasian), yellow (Mongoloid), black (Negroid). Representatives of each race have their own distinctive, inherited features of the body structure, hair shape, skin color, eye shape, skull shape, etc.

Representatives of the white race have light skin, protruding noses, people of the yellow race have a cheeky face, a special shape of the eyelid, and yellow skin. Blacks, who belong to the Negroid race, have dark skin, wide noses, and curly hair.

Why are there such differences in the appearance of representatives of different races, and why do each race have certain characteristics? Scientists answer this as follows: the human races were formed as a result of adaptation to different conditions of the geographical environment, and these conditions left their imprints on representatives of various races.

Negroid race (black)

Representatives of the Negroid race are distinguished by black or dark brown skin, black curly hair, a flattened wide nose and thick lips (Fig. 82).

Where blacks live, there is an abundance of sun, it's hot - people's skin is more than adequately exposed to sunlight. And overexposure is harmful. And so the body of people in hot countries for thousands of years has adapted to an excess of sun: a pigment has developed in the skin that retains part of the sun's rays and, therefore, saves the skin from burns. Dark skin coloration is inherited. Hard curly hair, which forms an air cushion on the head, reliably protects a person from overheating.

Caucasian race (white)

Caucasians are characterized by fair skin, soft straight hair, a thick mustache and beard, a narrow nose and thin lips.

Representatives of the white race live in the northern regions, where the sun is a rare visitor, and they really need the sun's rays. In their skin, pigment is also produced, but at the height of summer, when the body, thanks to the sun's rays, is replenished with the right amount of vitamin D. At this time, representatives of the white race become swarthy.

Mongoloid race (yellow)

People belonging to the Mongoloid race have dark or lighter skin, straight coarse hair, sparse or undeveloped mustaches and beards, prominent cheekbones, lips and nose of medium thickness, almond-shaped eyes.

Where the representatives of the yellow race live, winds are frequent, even storms with dust and sand. And the locals endure such windy weather quite easily. Over the centuries, they have adapted to strong winds. Mongoloids have narrow eyes, as if on purpose, so that sand and dust get into them less, so that the wind does not irritate them, and they do not water. This sign is also inherited and is found in people of the Mongoloid race and in other geographical conditions. material from the site

Among people there are those who believe that people with white skin belong to the higher races, and those with yellow and black skin belong to the lower races. In their opinion, people with yellow and black skin are incapable of mental work and should only do physical work. These harmful ideas are still guided by racists in a number of third world countries. There, the work of blacks is paid lower than whites, blacks are subjected to humiliation and insults. In civilized countries, all peoples have the same rights.

Studies by N. N. Miklukho-Maclay on the equality of races

The Russian scientist Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukho-Maclay, in order to prove the complete inconsistency of the theory of the existence of "lower" races incapable of mental development, settled in 1871 on the island of New Guinea, where representatives of the black race lived - the Papuans. For fifteen months he lived among the island-chans, became close to them, studied them