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 native of Melanesia 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 inhabited 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, then 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 viability 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 large 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.

The population of our planet today exceeds 7 billion people. This figure is increasing every day.

Population of the Earth

Scientists have determined that in just a decade, the number of people on Earth will increase by 1 billion people. However, such dynamics of the demographic picture was not always so high.

A few centuries ago, the number of people increased slowly. People died from adverse weather conditions and diseases at an early age, since the development of science and technology was at a low level.

To date, the largest countries in terms of population are Japan, China and India. The population of these three countries becomes half of the world's population.

The smallest number of people live in countries whose territory covers equatorial forests, tundra and taiga zones, as well as mountain ranges. The bulk of the world's population lives in the Northern Hemisphere (about 90%).

Races

All mankind is divided into races. Races are organized groups of people who are united by common external features - body structure, face shape, skin color, hair structure.

Such external signs were formed as a result of the adaptation of human physiology to environmental conditions. There are three major races: Caucasoid, Negroid and Mongoloid.

The most numerous is the Caucasoid race, it includes about 45% of the world's population. Caucasoids inhabit the territory of Europe, part of Asia, South and North America and Australia.

The second largest is the Mongoloid race. The Mongoloid race includes people living in Asia, as well as the natives of North America - the Indians.

The Negroid race ranks third in terms of numbers. Representatives of this race live in Africa. After the slaveholding period, representatives of the Negroid race remained to live in South and North America.

peoples

Large races are formed by representatives of many peoples. Most of the world's population belongs to the 20 major nations, their number exceeds 50 million people.

Nations are communities of people who have lived on the same territory for long historical periods and are united by cultural heritage.

There are about 1500 peoples in the modern world. The geography of their settlement is the most diverse. Some of them are settled all over the planet, some are around within the limits of the settlement.

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 - 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 living nature 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

There is a high probability that in the past there were only four large islands inhabited by tribes of primitive man in the Arctida archipelago. Each of the islands became unsuitable for existence at different times, so in the prehistoric era there were four massive migration processes with an interval of 0.5 million years. Each migration process led to the formation of a new race. In total, there are four races of people on the globe: blacks (African race, Africans, Africonoids), redskins (American race, American Indians, Americanoids), yellowskins (Mongoloid race, Mongoloids or Asians) and whiteskins (European race, Europeans or Caucasians). From everyday practice it is known that the more time a naked person spends under the rays of the sun, the darker his skin becomes. Several million years ago it was very warm on all the continents of the northern hemisphere, except for the lands of northern Atlantis. Therefore, all primitive people, getting from the cold mainland to the warm regions of Europe, Asia or Africa, took off their clothes made of animal skins and walked naked.

The color of the skin of all peoples, tribes and races on the territory of the snowy North Atlantis was white. The earlier a person left the "northern homeland", the longer he "sunbathed" under the sun on other continents, and the darker his skin became. The difference in skin color between races depends on the amount of organic matter melanin in it, which is produced in skin cells due to exposure to sunlight (mainly ultraviolet). Based on these considerations, the conclusion suggests itself that the black race was the very first to leave North Atlantis. According to rough estimates, this happened 4 million years ago. The red-skinned American Indians migrated to America second - 3.5 million years ago, the yellow-skinned Asians were the third - 3 million years, and the white-skinned Europeans were the latest - 2 million years ago. Europe. The reason for this "fair distribution" of the continents is that each of the four islands of the archipelago of North Atlantis, inhabited by primitive people, was located at a considerable distance from the others. Therefore, one island was exactly opposite the territory of the continent of North America (Alaska), the other closely adjoined Europe, the third - to Asia (Siberia).

At the same time, Africa occupies a special position. It is located at a distance of 5000 kilometers from the former continent of Arctida (North Atlantis) when measuring the distance in a straight line (through Europe). How could the tribes of ancient man from North Atlantis get to the African continent earlier than to North America, Europe and Asia? There is a very simple explanation for this. The fact is that until about 10,000 years ago there was another continent in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, which is called Atlantis (or South Atlantis). It started from Arctida, where it connected with the continent Arctida. It continued in a thin strip 500-1000 kilometers wide in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, passed through the island of Iceland, had a huge plateau 5000 × 2000 kilometers in size at the level of the Iberian Peninsula, and then connected with Africa. South Atlantis has now sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean and turned into the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Therefore, there is a strong possibility that African blacks come from the northern island of Svalbard. Based on the geographical conditions of the Arctida archipelago that developed on Earth in the period of 3-5 million years ago, it can be argued that from the North Atlantis archipelago, primitive man could populate the continents using the southern direction of migration. Let us briefly describe the ways of distribution of each of the races.

Direction of migration of the black race (Africans)

The first island of the archipelago North Atlantis (Hyperborea), inhabited by primitive man, began to sink to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean 5 million years ago. Apparently, this island was about. Svalbard. Presumably, first the tribes settled on the continent of South Atlantis, the length of which is about 10,000 kilometers. For about 4 million years, the very first civilization on the planet developed in this place - the Negroid civilization of the Atlanteans. According to rough calculations, the total population of South Atlantis 4 million years ago reached 0.2 million people. Atlantis connected directly to Africa in two places: off the Atlantic coast of North and Central Africa. Starting about 1 million years ago, this continent began to slowly, in parts, sink to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and finally Atlantis as a continent ceased to exist 5-10 thousand years ago. This caused the death of up to 80% of the Atlantean population.

The ancient continent of Atlantis has become the underwater Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Due to the flooding of the islands of Arctida, the tribes of the Atlanteans - Negroids were forced to hastily migrate to the African mainland. For 4 million years ago, Central (Equatorial) Africa was inhabited by primitive people. Consequently, the African continent was settled by an ancient man from the west, "Negroid Atlanteans." That is why archaeologists find a large number of stone tools with an age of 0.5 - 3 million years in Central Africa, and they are not in South and North Africa. Ancient people for 3 million years inhabited 20% of Africa and only Central Africa.

By the way, even 50 thousand years ago the Sahara desert did not exist, and in this place there was a savannah with a large number of lakes, swamps, with tall grass and a diverse flora and fauna. The skin color of Africans changed in the following order: the white color of the skin was 4 million years ago on the lands of the snow-covered Arctida, yellow - 3 million years ago on the lands of hot Atlantis, red - 2 million years ago among the first settlers on the land of Africa, black - starting from 0 ,1 million years ago in areas of Central Africa. The population of Africans 0.5 million years ago reached millions of people. From a long stay on the sunny African continent (over 4 million years), the white skin of white-skinned Africans turned black. All other races (red-skinned Americans, yellow-skinned Asians, and white-skinned Europeans) lived on warm continents for less than 1-2 million years than Africans, and therefore their skin did not become black. However, Arabs and Indians are representatives of the European race with white skin, but after several millennia of existence in hot countries (for example, in Africa), they acquired dark skin color (Algerians, Egyptians, Sudanese, Somalis).

Direction of migration of the red-skinned race (American Indians)

Many scientists erroneously claim that people came to America from Siberia (Asia). Scientists put forward a hypothesis that primitive people 30,000 years ago sailed in boats from Chukotka to Alaska through the Bering Strait. But it is well known that Siberia in the period from 3 million years ago to 1000 AD was inhabited by tribes of an exclusively Asian race. The classic representative of the Asian race has a small stature (150 centimeters), a narrow slit of the eyes, a wide, not protruding forward and short nose, a smoothed facial part of the skull with cheeks convex on both sides, men have almost no beard and mustache. American Indians have completely different face and body shapes. These are tall and strong people, their height reaches almost 2 meters, the eyes are of European type, the aquiline nose protrudes far ahead, and so on. American Indians are completely different from narrow-eyed Asians and Africans with thick noses and lips. They are more like Europeans, and if not for the color of their skin, it would be difficult to distinguish them from Europeans. Therefore, the hypothesis of the Asian origin of the American Indians is erroneous.

A more plausible hypothesis. The American Indians are representatives of the European race, who were the first to "bud off" from the Europoids of the sunken continent of Arctida, and moved to the territory of North America in the Alaska (or Greenland) region. Events unfolded in the following sequence. The second island of the North Atlantis archipelago (Hyperborea - site), inhabited by primitive people, began to sink to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean 3.5 million years ago and was located at a distance of about 100 kilometers from the territory of Alaska or the northern lands of Canada. North America was settled by the tribes of the future red-skinned American Indians from Alaska and in the direction from west to east (from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic coast). It should be emphasized that the first Intelligent Man arose on the territory of North Atlantis 5 million years ago, for 1.5 million years the ancestors of the red-skinned race developed in “their” northern territory, and migrated to the lands of North America only 3.5 million years ago.

Archaeological excavations show that for 3 million years, American civilization developed exclusively in North America (modern Canada and the USA). This conclusion is based on the fact that the highest concentration of stone tools in North America is located in the Rocky Mountains (western United States). The population of America reached 1 million people 0.5 million years ago. Primitive people did not get to South America. The Amazon River, the mountains and the dense tropical forest surrounding it served as a natural barrier for primitive people to spread massively across the southern continent. For this reason, the territory of modern South American states (Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile) have absolutely no signs of the presence of primitive man. In South America, people appeared only 3 thousand years ago, and in North America - 3 million years ago. The skin color of the American Indians changed in the following order: the white color of the skin was 3.5 million years ago on the lands of the snow-covered Arctida, yellow - 3 million among the first settlers on American soil, red - 0.1 million years ago. The population of the American Indians 0.5 million years ago reached millions of people.

Direction of migration of the yellow-skinned race (Asians)

The third island of the North Atlantis (Hyperborea) archipelago, from which the tribes of the Mongoloid (Asian) race migrated 3 million years ago, is the current group of islands called the New Siberian Islands. The islands are 1,000 kilometers from the North Pole and are separated from the Asian continent by the Sannikov Strait, 80 kilometers wide. At that time, the New Siberian Islands represented a very large part of the land, exceeding the modern area by about 8 times. On this solid and huge island of Arctida, Homo sapiens also arose 5 million years ago, but over the course of 2 million years it developed in the conditions of the polar tundra. The main reason for its migration is not the flooding of the land by the waters of the ocean, but the cooling of the climate with all the ensuing consequences. The continuous evolutionary process of the development of tribes on the territory of the New Siberian Islands for 2 - 5 million years contributed to an increase in the population to 30 thousand people. The same number of people crossed the Sannikov Strait 3 million years ago and populated the lands of modern Yakutia.

Gradually, the tribes migrated west to the Ural Mountains, east to the lands of Chukotka and south to the territory of modern Mongolia. Over the course of 3 million years, the civilization of the Mongoloid race developed over a vast area, which is located between the Ob and Kolyma rivers. In 1982, during archaeological excavations in the Deering-Yuryakh region (140 kilometers from Yakutsk), stone tools were discovered, the age of which was determined by experts at 1.8 - 3.2 million years. The population of Asians 0.5 million years ago reached millions of people. In the period 0.5-3 million years ago, mixed forests with an unprecedentedly large variety of flora and fauna grew in this area. The primitive people who lived there had an abundance of meat food, berries, mushrooms, nuts, and fish. The beginning of a significant cooling of the climate in this territory caused a mass migration of Asians to the south, southeast and east. Five obstacles prevented the ancient Asian tribes from migrating westward to Europe: the Yenisei and Ob rivers, in the north the wide sea bay of the Gulf of Ob 100 kilometers wide and 900 kilometers long, the Ural Mountains and the endless swamps of swamps between the Yenisei and the Ob with a tributary of the Irtysh.

The swamps of the West Siberian lowland, 1,500 kilometers wide and 3,000 kilometers long, are the main and natural barrier that did not "let" the race of Asians into European territory. Below the swamp zone, exactly in the direction from north to south, there is a “solid wall” of high mountains: the Sayans, the Pamirs, the Tien Shan, the Himalayas. Thus, geographical barriers exist throughout the Asian continent, "bog and mountain barriers" extend from north to south. The distance from the Yamal Peninsula (Arctic Ocean) to Bangladesh (Indian Ocean) is almost 7,000 kilometers. About 2.5 thousand kilometers of this distance are swamps, and about 4 thousand kilometers are mountains. There remains a narrow gap of 500 kilometers in the south of Siberia, which has no natural barriers to the migration of Asians from east to west. Due to natural barriers, the primitive people of the Mongoloid race were absent from the territory of Central Asia and Europe for a long time. The skin color of the Mongoloids changed in the following order: white was 3 million years ago on the lands of snow-covered Arctida, yellow - 0.1 million years ago among the tribes that inhabited the warm (at that time) territories of Mongolia and China. The population of Asians 0.5 million years ago reached millions of people. The main directions of their migration were as follows.

Direction of Migration No. 1. A small number of tribes (5% Mongoloids) migrated to the east: Yakutia → Chukotka → Kamchatka Peninsula → Aleutian Islands. Part of the Asian tribes penetrated even into Alaska through the narrow Bering Strait. However, at that time, North America had already been inhabited by American Indians for 0.5 million years, so after numerous military clashes, the migration of Asians to Alaska was stopped.

Direction of Migration No. 2. The second small direction of migration (15% of the Mongoloids) took place in the southeast direction: Yakutia → Far East → Sakhalin Island → Japan → Korea.

Direction of Migration No. 3. The main direction of migration of the Mongoloid race (80%) passed to the south: Yakutia → Lake Baikal → Mongolia → China → Indochinese Peninsula → Indonesia → Philippines → New Guinea → Australia. The migration process of Asians from the regions of Central Siberia over the past 0.5 million years occurred mainly in a southerly direction. An example can be given from recent history: numerous tribes of Manchus and Kitai, who used to inhabit the regions of Central Siberia near the Nizhnyaya Tunguska River, migrated to China only a few millennia ago.

The direction of migration of the white race (Europeans)

The fourth island of the archipelago of North Atlantis (Hyperborea), from which the tribes of the European race migrated 2 million years ago, is the current island called Novaya Zemlya. It is the southernmost island of the Arctida archipelago. It is located 2 thousand kilometers south of the north pole of the Earth, so a cool climate later settled on it, which became the main reason for the migration of primitive people. In the past, the island of Novaya Zemlya was about 5 times larger in size. On this island, man also arose 5 million years ago, but for 3 million years he developed in the conditions of the Arctic. Due to the more southerly location of the island, the need to leave it for primitive man appeared only 2 million years ago, as severe colds began and the mass extinction of the plant and animal world began. Until that moment, Novaya Zemlya Island had good conditions for human life.

Novaya Zemlya Island is separated from Eastern Europe by the Kara Gate Strait, 70 kilometers wide. About 2 million years ago, the strait was crossed by boats and rafts, presumably 100 thousand primitive people. In the north of the European continent, a person found favorable conditions for life. The climate on the coast of the Arctic Ocean 2 million years ago was quite warm, similar to the climate of modern Italy. The tundra did not exist at that time. In northern Europe, the tundra arose only 0.3 million years ago. The Arctic coast of Europe was covered with dense forests. This geographical area is located 1.5 thousand kilometers south of the Arctic coast, and therefore, 2 million years ago it was many times warmer than the climate on the island of Novaya Zemlya. Two million years ago, the area between the Ob and Northern Dvina rivers was much warmer than today, covered at first with tropical, and after 1 million years ago with mixed forests with an abundance of animals, berries, mushrooms, nuts, there were a lot of fish in the rivers. In summer, the forests were full of wild apples, plums, pears, grapes, cherries, and cherries. Vegetables grew in the meadows: beets, carrots, pumpkins, watermelons, onions, garlic.

The region of the Pechora River became for millions of years the main center of primitive European civilization. For quite a long time (over 1 million years), the center of development of the ancient peoples of the European race was located in the area between the Pechora and Northern Dvina rivers. There, archaeologists find a huge number of stone tools, rock paintings, places of numerous sites of primitive people. Millions of years ago, the climate in the north of America, Europe and Asia was the same as it is now in Italy - warm and humid. the past was a thousand times greater than it is now. Paleontological studies prove that once there were huge saber-toothed tigers and cave bears weighing up to several tons (Siberia), predators up to two meters high, similar to a very large wild boar (Central Asia), predators in the form of huge ostriches up to 5 meters high (Southern America) and so on.

Every day, an ancient person witnessed how one of the relatives (a child or a woman) was eaten by predatory animals. But most often men suffered from predators, who, alone, went far from the location of the tribe for hunting and fishing. A lone hunter armed with a stone ax or a spear almost always died, since millions of years ago he was instantly surrounded by dozens of hungry and large predators. The resistance was short and useless. The danger forced people to unite in clans and tribes, forced them to live and hunt collectively, 10-30 people each.

Further cooling of the climate in the north of Eastern Europe forced people to migrate from the area of ​​the Pechora River. People of the white race began to intensively settle on the European continent. The ancient Europeans were prevented from spreading to the east, to the Siberian lands, by the same natural barriers as the Mongoloid race to the west: the swamps of the West Siberian lowland, the Yenisei and Ob rivers, the wide sea bay of the Gulf of Ob, the Sayan mountains, the Pamirs, the Tien Shan, the Himalayas.

For 1 million years, the population of Europeans in the Pechora region has increased to about 0.7 million people. The hypothesis of the existence of the Pechora center of ancient European civilization has many confirmations.

For example, the Hungarian tribes moved to Central Europe from the cold regions of the Ural Mountains 3,000 years ago, and the Sumerians migrated from Eastern Europe to Mesopotamia (Iran) 11,000 years ago. The Etruscans migrated to Central Europe, and then to the north of Italy.

Archaeological confirmation of the settlement of an ancient man from the Pechersk center of the primary settlement of the European race across the territory of Western Europe and Asia Minor (Middle East) is the spread of microliths that are completely identical in shape. Microliths are very sharp stone fragments made of obsidian or silicon, which were firmly attached to one side of a short wooden stick (no more than half a meter long). It was a stone prototype of the modern sickle, reaping knife. The stone sickle was the most common stone tool of the ancient agricultural peoples in Europe and Asia Minor. Before the advent of the agricultural era (0.2 million years ago), stone sickles were widely used to cut the stems of various cereals from huge fields of wild wheat, barley, oats, rye and so on. When archaeologists from different countries compared stone microliths from the Urals and microliths found in the most ancient cultural layers of the earth in France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and India, they did not find the slightest difference between them. These were stone products made according to the technology of the once united people of the European race, the primary center of which was in Northern Europe.

Three directions of the earliest migration of the European race can be distinguished.

Southern direction of European migration (to Egypt and India). The main routes of settlement of Europeans were directed to the south, where probably 60% of the population of the Pechersk region migrated. In this direction, the Indian migration route stands out (north of Eastern Europe → Kazakhstan → Turkmenistan → Iran → Afghanistan → Pakistan → India) and the Arabian migration route (north of Eastern Europe → Volga region → Transcaucasia → Turkey → Iraq → Saudi Arabia → Egypt → Sudan → Somalia) . Near the village of Trypillya (Ukraine, near the city of Kyiv), archaeologists have unearthed an ancient settlement of farmers of the Neolithic era. They called this culture Tripoli. Later it was found that the Trypillians occupied the vast territory of Moldova and Ukraine, and their kindred tribes (Boyans, Keresh, Cucuteni, linear-ribbon) lived in the Balkans and in the south of Western Europe. The remains of grain and bones of domestic animals were found at Trypillia settlements. The most interesting thing is that Trypillians and their relatives decorated dishes in the same way as people of Mesopotamian cultures (Hassun and Khalaf), i.e.
not by squeezing drawings on wet clay, but by painting with colored paints. They also made from clay figurines of goddesses, mostly seated, as in Chatal Guyuk (Iraq), and figurines of a bull, as in Crete and Greece. These archaeological finds once again prove that the settlement of Europeans from the Pechersk center mainly occurred to the south: Ukraine → Greece, Ukraine → Iraq.

It is interesting to note that the territory of Egypt was first inhabited by Negroids, and then by Europeans. In support of what has been said, there is such information from the history of the Ancient East. The territory of Africa, including Egypt, was inhabited by the peoples of the black race in the period from 1 to 3 million years ago. Archaeologists in North Africa have found a large number of graves of an ancient man of the earliest period. The deceased person was buried with his head to the south and on his left side, that is, facing west. By this position of the body, ancient people indicated the place of their origin - the face was directed towards the Atlantic Ocean, towards the location of the ancient continent of Atlantis. The head was directed to the south, which indicated that people of the African race came to the territory of Egypt from Central Africa, from the south. After 1 million years ago, the territory of Egypt was already inhabited by the peoples of the "white race", which arose in the north of Europe and settled Africa from the side of the Arabian Peninsula, that is, from the east.

Therefore, the custom of burial has changed a lot. They began to bury the dead, placing their bodies with their heads to the north and also on their left side, that is, facing east, facing the Arabian Peninsula. From this we can conclude that after 1 million years ago, the territory of modern Egypt began to be settled by Europeans, who came to Arabia from the northern lands of Eastern Europe, and came to Africa from Arabia, that is, from the eastern territories in relation to Africa. That is why the face of the deceased person was directed to the east, towards the location of the Arabian Peninsula. Thus, the posture of the deceased person indicated the place from which the migration of the ancestors of the European race to the African continent began. In addition, the deceased person was buried in a pose with the direction of the head not to the south (not towards the location of Central Africa), but to the north, that is, towards the location of Eastern Europe, the Arctic Ocean, towards the location of the first homeland of the European race - Arctida. Based on these archaeological documents, it can be argued that after 1 million years ago, the territory of Egypt began to be inhabited by tribes of the European race. This opinion is also confirmed by the fact that the ancient Egyptian language has some affinity with the ancient Semitic languages ​​(Phoenician, Akkadian, Assyrian and Hebrew).

Western direction of European migration to Scandinavia. In the western direction (to the Scandinavian Peninsula), probably 10% of ancient Europeans migrated from the region of the Pechera River. The Scandinavian migration route starts from the north of Eastern Europe → Finland → Sweden → Norway. From 4 million to 0.2 million years ago, the climate on the Scandinavian Peninsula was relatively warm, especially on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is washed by the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, so the winters were very short (1 - 2 months) and mild (no more than 5 degrees Celsius). In summer it was very hot - about forty degrees Celsius. The territory was covered with dense forests, where wild animals abounded, and there were many fish in rivers and lakes. The ancient Varangians dressed in animal skins in winter, and in summer they wore coarse self-woven clothes. Sailing boats of the Vikings in very ancient times crossed the Baltic Sea, reached England, Iceland and Greenland. Probably, immediately after the occupation of Scandinavia, the Vikings began to smelt iron tools. The Scandinavian migration route has a certain historical continuation of its development.

Southwest direction of European migration. Probably, more than 30% of the population of the European race left Eastern Europe in the period of 1 - 2 million years ago and settled throughout Western Europe. Europeans settled from the Pechora River in 2 million years to the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic migration route began from the north of Eastern Europe → Ukraine → Romania → Yugoslavia → Germany → Italy → France → Spain → Portugal.

CONCLUSION. So, in the period from 3 to 5 million years ago, humanity (except for the Negroid race) concentrated on the northern lands of three continents: the American Indians - on the territory of modern Canada and the United States (north America), the Mongoloid race - on the territory of Yakutia (northern Siberia), the European race - in the region of the Pechora River (northern Europe). Over the next 2.7 million years, the continents were slowly settled. This was primary, free and peaceful process of human migration through the uninhabited expanses of the continents - site. The primary and free migration of mankind across the continents occurred very slowly in the period of 3-5 million years ago. American Indians settled North America and only much later (30 thousand years ago) part of South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). The Amazon River became a serious obstacle for the ancient people of America, since ancient people settled south of the river only 2 thousand years ago. The tribes of the Mongoloid race spread to the south of China. The tribes of the European race from the Pechora River "spread" to Spain in the west and to India in the east.

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: 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 been 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 islanders, became close to them, studied their language and customs. The traveler-nick enjoyed great prestige among the locals, his word was considered law. In New Guinea, he fell ill with dengue fever and settled on the island of Java for treatment.