The Sovereign of All Russia, the twelve-year-old Tsar Peter II, upon his accession to the throne, immediately, long before the official coronation, prescribed to his subjects that in letters addressed to him and requests addressed to him, the “lowest slave” should be placed before the signature of the bearer. no more and

Races Australian (Australoid) Asian-American (Mongoloid) American American Arctic Armenoid Atlanto-Baltic Balkan-Caucasian White Sea-Baltic Bushman Veddoid Grimaldian Far Eastern Eurasian

Which birds never land on the ground? These tiny, butterfly-sized birds are called hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are most commonly found in North America, where they are called "flying precious stone". This name is very suitable for these unusual birds, since

People of the modern type appeared on Earth about 40 thousand years ago. Due to the peculiarities of the natural and geographical conditions in appearance human differences. For example, dark color protects skin from solar radiation. Curly hair forms an air cushion on the head and protects from overheating.

Where people with a yellowish skin tone live, there are often winds, dust and sand storms. Therefore, the eyes of those people look like a narrow slit with a skin fold covering the inner corner of the eye. People different continents, countries differ in body structure, skin color, hair, eyes, shape and size of the nose, lips, etc. These signs are called racial. They were formed over a long historical period and are passed down from generation to generation.

human races - this is large groups people connected by a common origin and external signs.

According to external signs, they distinguish four main races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid, Negroid(or equatorial) and australoid.

To the Caucasian race includes almost half of the planet's humanity. The name itself suggests that most of the peoples of this race live in Europe. With the discovery of America and Australia, Caucasians settled all over the world. They have fair skin, soft straight or slightly wavy hair, a narrow nose, thin lips eye color may vary. In addition to Europeans, Indians, Tajiks, Armenians, and Arabs belong to this race. All Slavs, including Ukrainians, are Caucasians.

People live in Africa and America negroid race. The peoples of this race live in equatorial regions. They have dark skin, hair and eyes, hair is curly or wavy, the hair on the face and body is poorly developed, most of them have a wide nose, the upper jaw protrudes forward, and the lips are thick.

To Mongoloid race belongs to almost 40% of the world's population. The peoples of the Mongoloid race settled in the vast expanses of Asia, the islands Pacific Ocean and on both continents of America. The Mongoloids have a yellowish skin color, black straight hair, eyes as narrow as slits, a flat face, a wide nose, thin, slightly thickened lips. This race includes the Mongols, Chinese, Japanese, Koreans and other peoples of Asia, as well as Indians - indigenous people America

Representatives australoid race inhabit the northeast of the mainland of Australia and the eastern part of about. New Guinea. This race is characterized by dark skin, hair, eyes. The hairline is well developed on the face, the nose is wide and flat.

With the growth of the population of the Earth, peoples of different races communicated with each other more and more. So there were mixed race — mulattos(descendants of blacks and Europeans), mestizos(then-ki Indians and Europeans), sambo(descendants of Indians and Negroes). material from the site

For a long time, Europeans did not recognize the equality of races. Representatives of the Mongoloid race, and especially the Negroid, were considered to be at the lowest stage of development and incapable of creating their own civilization. One of the first to refute this erroneous and inherently racist theory was the world-famous scientist, great-grandson of the Zaporizhzhya Cossack Makhlai N. N. Miklukho-Maclay. He was a famous traveler, lived for many years among the Papuans of New Guinea and proved that they are in no way inferior to Europeans in their mental development. He argued that all people, regardless of place of residence, skin color, hair and other external signs, are the same in their biological characteristics. The Papuans considered Nikolai Nikolaevich their friend. On the coast of New Guinea has a territory named after him Maclay coast.

On this page, material on the topics:

• Caucasoid race, continents, countries

• Caucasian race lifestyle in Africa

• Negroid race biology report

• Geography grade 7 message about the australoid race

• Mongoloid race peoples abstract brief

Questions about this item:

Throughout almost the entire history of mankind, the population of the Earth has grown very slowly. The acceleration came in the period of modern history, and especially in the 20th century. The world population is about 6.1 billion people. The annual increase is approximately 85 million people or 1.4%. Almost 90% of it occurs at the expense of developing countries. The population of Africa and the Muslim countries of Asia is growing at a particularly high rate. According to forecast estimates, the world population in 2050 will reach 9.3 billion people, of which 58% will live in Asia, 22 in Africa, and only 7% in Europe, including Russia. By the number of inhabitants, the largest will be (million people): India - 1535, China - 1523, Pakistan - 380, USA - 350 and Nigeria - 340.

The world's population is distributed extremely unevenly: about 70% of all people live on 7% of the earth's land area. Along with this, about half of all inhabited land has an average population density of less than 5 people per 1 km2. Areas completely undeveloped by people occupy 15% of the land. There are 4 areas of high population density on the globe: South and East Asia, Western Europe and East End North America. For the accommodation of the population strong influence have the natural conditions of the territory, employment in agriculture, attraction to transport and trade routes. For example, more than half of the population is concentrated in a 200-kilometer strip along the coasts of the seas and oceans, and almost 30% in a 50-kilometer strip. Average density population of the Earth - 40 people per 1 km2. This average hides very large differences between hotel regions and countries.

At present, the population is distributed very unevenly across countries and parts of the world: Asia - 3786 million people, Africa - 822, America - 829, Europe - 700, Australia and Oceania - 30. The largest (more than 100 million people) countries of the world in 2000 were: China - 1285, India - 1027, USA - 281, Indonesia - 228, Brazil - 175, Pakistan - 156, Russia - 145, Bangladesh - 131, Japan - 128, Nigeria - 127, Mexico - 104. 50 million people) were allocated to the Philippines - 83, Germany - 82, Vietnam - 80, Egypt - 69, Iran - 68, Turkey - 67, Ethiopia - 66, Thailand - 62, Great Britain - 59, France - 59, Italy - 58.

People are not the same appearance, according to the color of the skin, hair, eyes, the shape of the skull, face. These outward signs, by which one group of people differs from another, are called racial characteristics. Groups of people with similar racial characteristics are called human races. There are three main human races: Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Equatorial. Most of the peoples of Eurasia belong to the Caucasoid race. Many Europeans moved to other continents centuries ago. Caucasoids inhabit most of North America and South America, Australia. Many peoples of Asia belong to the Mongoloid race, as well as Indians - the indigenous inhabitants of America. The main areas of the settlement of peoples equatorial race Africa, Australia, New Guinea and Madagascar. Negroes belonging to this race - the descendants of slaves taken out of Africa - live in North and South America.

As a result of communication between peoples of different races, mixed races appeared. There are 3-4 thousand peoples or ethnic groups in the world. Ethnic groups are called established stable communities of people. The classification of peoples (ethnic groups) is usually carried out according to their number. The vast majority of peoples are small. There are 310 nations in the world with more than 1 million people, but they make up 96% of the total population of the Earth. Among all peoples, 18 largest stand out, numbering more than 50 million each, which account for about 60% of the world's population. More than 100 million people number only 7 peoples: Chinese (over 1 billion), Hindustanis, US Americans, Bengalis, Russians, Brazilians and Japanese.

Nowadays, the location of the population is increasingly determined by the geography of cities. When assessing the urban population, it should be taken into account that there is no single concept of “city” for all countries. For example, in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, a city is considered a settlement with more than 200 inhabitants, in Canada, Australia - over 1000, in Germany, France - over 2000, in the USA - over 2500, in India - over 5000, in Switzerland - over 10,000, and in Japan over 30,000.

Urbanization (from lat. city) is the growth of cities and the increase specific gravity urban population, as well as the emergence of increasingly complex networks and systems of cities. Modern urbanization has three common features characteristic of most countries in the world. The first trait is fast pace urban population growth. The second feature is the concentration of population and economy mainly in big cities. Among the large hearths, it is customary to highlight the cities-"millionaires" (with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants). The third feature is the "spread" of cities, the expansion of their territory, the formation of urban agglomerations - territorial groupings of urban and rural settlements. The largest urban agglomerations of the world have developed around Mexico City, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and New York; 16-20 million people live in each of them. In Russia, the largest agglomeration is Moscow (13.5 million people). According to the level of urbanization, all countries of the world can be divided into three large groups: highly urbanized (Kuwait, Great Britain, Sweden, Australia, Japan, USA, Russia, etc.), that is, with a share of the urban population of more than 50%, medium urbanized (20–50 %) and poorly urbanized (less than 20%). The pace of urbanization largely depends on its level. In most economically developed countries that have reached a high level of urbanization, the proportion of the urban population has recently been growing relatively slowly or even decreasing. AT developing countries Asia and Africa, where the level of urbanization is much lower, it continues to grow in breadth and urban population increases rapidly. This phenomenon, known in science as an urban explosion, has become one of the critical factors socio-economic development of the entire developing world.

Rural settlement is characterized by two main forms: group (village) and scattered (farm). The rural form prevails in Russia, foreign Europe, China, Japan, in the vast majority of developing countries. The farm form of settlement is most common in the USA, Canada, and Australia.

Population growth depends on the nature of its reproduction. Reproduction ( natural movement) of the population, the totality of processes of fertility, mortality and natural increase which ensure the continuous renewal and change of human generations. In the most simplified form, we can talk about two types of population reproduction

The first type of population reproduction is characterized by relatively low rates of fertility, mortality and natural increase. It is widespread in economic developed countries North America, Europe, Russia, Australia. However, in some countries foreign Europe(Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Hungary, etc.) natural population growth is so low that there is even a natural population decline.

The second type of population reproduction is characterized by high and very high birth rates and natural increase. It is typical for developing countries, where, after gaining independence, the death rate dropped quite sharply and the birth rate remained at the same very high level. high level. Such a phenomenon of rapid population growth in countries of the second type of reproduction since the middle of the 20th century. received inliterature the figurative name of the population explosion.

Population migration, which is divided into external and internal, has a great impact on the distribution of the population, as well as on its size and composition. External migrations of the population arose in ancient times, continued in the Middle Ages, during the periods of the new and recent history. Until the middle of the XX century. The main center of emigration was Europe, the second - Asia. The US, Canada, Latin America, and Australia served primarily as centers of immigration. After the Second World War, the geography of external migrations changed markedly. Intercontinental migration has decreased and intracontinental migration has increased, especially in Europe, which now employs 12–13 million foreign workers. In the second half of the XX century. spread new form external migrations, known as the brain drain. Its essence lies in poaching foreign scientists, engineers, doctors and other specialists highly qualified. The "brain drain" has a particularly negative effect on developing countries, where the stratum of intelligentsia is small. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, due to the economic and political crisis, the “brain drain” from Russia and other CIS countries intensified. There are several types of internal (intrastate) migrations of the population. This is the movement of people from countryside to the city, colonization and development of new lands, etc.

Population placement- Distribution of the population on the territory of the Earth. To a large extent, it depends on natural conditions. And since such conditions are not the same on the planet, the population is distributed extremely unevenly. Besides great importance have a history for the settlements of the territory and the level of development of the economy, etc.

In view of this, not all areas of the globe are favorable for human life. So, only 7% of the land area is home to 70% of the world's population, and 37% of the territory is not inhabited at all.

Population density- the number of people living on 1 km2. This is the main indicator of the distribution of people on the planet. The most densely populated areas ancient agriculture- the Nile Valley, the Great Plain of China, the Indo-Gangetic lowland, etc. There are favorable natural conditions, so the population density exceeds 300 people per 1 km2. Simultaneously in the polar and tropical deserts, where the climate is extremely variable and limited terms for farming, the population density is less than 1 person per 1 km2. Europe is the largest part of the world, the smallest is Australia.

human races- groups of people who have certain common external features. External signs The ways in which one group of people differs from another are called racial traits. These include different skin color, hair, eyes, head shape, etc.

Racial characteristics are not random and formed a very long time ago as a result of human settlement of various geographical areas Earth. So, the inhabitants of the hot regions of the globe eventually developed adaptations that protected the body from overheating. sunbeams. They have dark skin, thick and curly hair, thick lips and wide open nostrils. All these are signs of representatives of the Negroid (equatorial) race.

The inhabitants of cold countries belong to the Caucasoid race. They have light skin, soft hair of different colors. The narrow nose limits the inhalation of cold air. These adaptations gave more chances to survive and settle in Europe, in a large area of ​​which the climate is characterized by significant cloudiness and relatively less heat.

The representatives of the Mongoloid race have a yellowish skin color, black straight hair. They have a narrow section of the eyes, since they have long lived in open spaces with strong winds and dust storms.

With the growth of the population of the Earth, peoples of different races communicated more and more closely with each other. Therefore, mixed races appeared.

Rams is a system of human populations, characterized by similarity in a complex of certain hereditary biological traits that have an external phenotypic expression and formed in a certain geographic region. Features that characterize different races, often appear as a result of adaptation to different conditions environment that has taken place 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.

Typological concept of race

The typological concept of race historically appears first. According to the typological approach, describing the features specific person, one can clearly attribute it to one or another race: racial types are distinguished, and each individual is evaluated according to the degree of approximation to one or another “pure” type. For example, the width of the lips and nose more than a certain value, in combination with a low head index, a large protrusion of the face forward, curly hair and skin darker than a certain type standard, is regarded as evidence of belonging to the Negroid race. According to this scheme, you can even determine the racial affiliation of a particular person as a percentage. The complexity of the typological concept lies in the allocation of "pure" types, clearly different from one another. Depending on the number of such types and characteristics defined as racial, the racial definition of a person will also change. Moreover, consistent strict application typological principle leads to the fact that siblings can be attributed to different races. As noted by the prominent domestic anthropologist V.P. Alekseev, the typological concept of race "is increasingly becoming anachronistic and receding into the history of anthropological science."

A number of hypotheses within the framework of the typological concept (for example, the existence of an equatorial race) have been refuted by modern genetic studies.

Population race concept

In modern domestic racial science, the population concept of race dominates. According to it, a race is a collection of populations, not individuals. Race is seen as independent education, which has its own structure. Characters within a race are combined in different combinations compared to the individual.

In the USA, the departure from the typological concept of race to the population-genetic one dates back to 1950. In the USSR, the foundations of the population concept of race were formulated as early as 1938 by VV Bunak. AT further concept was developed by V.P. Alekseev.

Caucasian race

The natural range of Caucasians - from Europe to the Urals, North Africa, Southwest Asia and Hindustan. They include Armenoid, Nordic, Mediterranean, Falian, Alpine, East Baltic, Caucasian, Dinaric and other subgroups. It differs from other races primarily in the strong profiling of the face. The rest of the features vary widely.

Negroid race

The representative of the Negroid race is a native Kenyan.

Natural area -- Central, Western and East Africa. Characteristic differences are curly hair, dark skin, dilated nostrils, thick lips, etc. There is an eastern subgroup (Nilotic type, tall, narrowly built) and a western subgroup (Negro type, round-headed, medium height). A group of pygmies (Negrillian type) stands apart.

Pygmies compared to a Caucasian of average height

The natural habitat of the pygmies -- Western part Central Africa. Height from 144 to 150 cm for adult men, light brown skin, dark curly hair, relatively thin lips, large torso, short arms and legs, this physical type can be classified as a special race. The possible number of pygmies can range from 40 to 200 thousand people.

Capoids, Bushmen

Capoids (Bushmen, Khoisan race). Natural habitat - South Africa. Short, with infantile features. They have the shortest and curliest hair. The skin is yellow-brown, not elastic - wrinkles quickly appear, a fold hangs over the pubis (“Hottentot apron”). Characterized by steatopygia (predominant deposition of fat on the buttocks), strong lordosis. The special fold of the eyelid, protruding cheekbones and yellowish skin give the Bushmen some resemblance to the Mongoloids. These are parallel adaptations to life in similar conditions of semi-deserts.

Rosenberg clusters

The races of the eastern stem are characterized by two differences: greater evolutionary archaism (in particular, the human process of simplifying teeth proceeds more slowly) and increased migration. It's caused geographical features eastern hearth. The abundance of geographical barriers - seas, mountains, huge rivers, as well as shelves, which during the period of glaciation were either exposed or flooded, gave advantages to more migrant groups. And in the conditions of a dispersed population, the infantilization factor, which forged modern man acted weaker.

Mongoloid race

Originally inhabited Eastern Eurasia, formed on the territory of modern Mongolia. Appearance reflects adaptation to desert conditions (the Gobi desert is one of the largest deserts in the world; it is located in Mongolia and northern China, whose territory is mainly inhabited by Mongoloids). Main feature- protection of the eyes from increased insolation, dust, cold, etc. For this, a narrow incision of the eyelids serves, an additional fold is the epicanthus, dark iris, thick eyelashes, protruding cheekbones with fat pads, long (if not cut) straight and black hair. There are two contrasting groups: the northern (massive, tall, light-skinned, with a large face and low cranial vault) and the southern (graceful, short, swarthy, small face and high forehead). This contrast is caused by the action of the infantilization factor in overpopulated southern regions. The young race is about 12 thousand years old.

Americanoid race

The Americanoid race is a race distributed in North and South America. Americanoids are characterized by straight black hair and an aquiline nose. The eyes are black, wider than those of Asian Mongoloids, but narrower than those of Caucasians. Epicanthus is comparatively rare in adults, although quite common in children. The growth of Americanoids is often very high.

australoids

Australoids (Australian-Oceanian race). ancient race, which had a huge range, limited by regions: Hindustan, Tasmania, Hawaii, Kuriles (that is, almost half of the globe). Everywhere it was forced out and mixed with migrants. Includes groups: Polynesian, Melanesian, Australian, Veddoid, Ainu. Extremely diverse race. The features of the appearance of indigenous Australians - lighter skin of brown shades, a large nose, long wavy hair that burns out like tow, a massive eyebrow, powerful jaws sharply distinguish them from African Negroids. There is also a great genetic distance between them. However, among the Melanesians (Papuans), spiral hair is often found, which, along with genetic proximity, indicates a small influx of migrants from Africa. Veddoids are more gracile Australoids, originally inhabiting Hindustan. As Caucasoid migrants settled in Hindustan, they were oppressed as representatives of the "lower castes". In Indonesia and Indochina, the Veddoids mixed with the southern Mongoloids.

Ancient and relic races

Modern population genetics admits that now existing races do not exhaust the entire historical morphological diversity of people of the modern type, and that in ancient times there were races that either disappeared without a trace, or whose signs were later blurred as a result of assimilation by carriers of other races. In particular, the Uralist V.V. Napolskikh put forward a hypothesis about the existence of a Paleo-Ural race in the past, the signs of which are currently blurred between the Ural-Siberian Caucasoids and Western Mongoloids, but are not characteristic of either Caucasoids in general or Mongoloids in general. Biologist S. V. Drobyshevsky points out that the morphological diversity of people in the Paleolithic was perhaps even more pronounced than at the present time, and that the skulls of people of that time do not fall under classification features modern races. In particular, only in Europe does he single out at least the following extinct prehistoric races

As a result of mixed marriages, mixed races appear. Mulattos are the result of a combination of the Negroid and Caucasoid races, mestizos - Mongoloid and Caucasoid, and Sambo - Negroid and Mongoloid. Moreover, there are entire nations that are currently changing their racial identity. For example, the inhabitants of Ethiopia and Somalia are moving from Negroid to Caucasian, and the inhabitants of Madagascar - from Mongoloid to Negroid. It should be borne in mind that in the post-Columbian era, huge masses of the population left their natural habitats. So Saskatchewan might have a Bushman, and Nuku'alofa a Dutchman. But this is already the result of the action of not anthropological, but historical factors. In addition, a large proportion modern humanity are mestizos, the result of interracial mixing (for example, Afroasiatics). Even in the pre-Columbian era, mestizo transitional types formed on the border of races - Ethiopian, Ainu, South Siberian and others. Active settlements and conquests of Europeans intensified the process of mixing and migration. Most of the mestizo population is in South and North America.

Racial differences

Each race in its own way is better adapted to survive in specific conditions: the Eskimos in arctic deserts, and the Nilotic - in the savannas. However, in the era of civilization, such opportunities appear for representatives of all races. However, facts related to racial physiology still have an impact on people's lives.

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 color eye;
• 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.

The races of man are a collection of external morphological features, that is, those that are the phenotype of the 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 Homo sapiens how species, which 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 could be identified. human species. However, later the classification became widespread, which includes only 3 human races. This became possible due to the unification of the Australoid and negroid group in 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 has its own characteristics, characteristics, external manifestations in the form of people. All of them are considered by anthropologists, and the science itself, which studies this question 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 research recent years allow us to speak again 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, South-East Asia, 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 above common signs for the whole race - this is 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 XXI centuries have proved the failure of such an 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 various 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 fairly severe conditions. 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 inner corner eyes.
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 different representatives from yellow to swarthy, fair-skinned people are also found.

It should be noted that another hallmark is not high growth, 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 quantitative characteristics there 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, albinos-Negroids are special case the appearance of blondes 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 races of man 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, at the same time affecting aspects of life on different continents. This is how the formation modern types people from several phylogenetic lineages. However, it is not necessary to say for sure about the viability of one or another hypothesis, since evidence of biological and genetic nature, molecular level no.

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. 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 large one is subdivided into many small ones, and they are already compiled on the basis of not only small external hallmarks, but also includes data genetic research, clinical analyses, facts of molecular biology.

Therefore, small races are what allows you to more accurately reflect the position of each individual in the system. organic world, and specifically, within 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.