Races and the origin of races

From a biological point of view, all the living humanity is one species of Homo sapiens which can be divided into a number of smaller divisions called races. Look at the photo collage on the back wall of the central part of showcase No. 32. Race is a certain group of people who have a genetic relationship manifesting itself in a physical resemblance based on many characteristics, and live in a certain area. When Hominidae left the territory of Africa for the last time one hundred thousand years ago at the level of Homo sapiens, present human species already had a hidden mosaic of race characteristics, well-known to us nowadays. But the most pronounced signs of a race manifested in humans depending on where they appeared, in which climatic zone, when they were settling in the mainland. Thus, anthropological types which are characteristic of the regions of our planet gradually developed.

Modern humanity, depending on the classification, is divided into three or five big races: in the first case – equatorial (Negro-Australoid), Eurasian (Caucasian) and Asian-American (Mongoloid); in the second case – Negroid, Australoid, Caucasian, Mongoloid and American.

One may ask: “Could you suppose that representatives of racial types differ in appearance so much that they can be regarded as new species forms which will subsequently become separate species?” The answer is categorical: “No!”

Present human races will not become separate species, as representatives of all races intermarry as a result of vigorous migration across the planet. Currently, racial differences are being erased, since the degree of mixed marriages has increased dramatically. Speciation process for humans is arrested. Homo sapiens is a single species (without any subspecies), but with a distinct polytypism. In addition, today the dependence of a modern human on the climate has decreased significantly. Where have races come from?

Look at the three reconstructions of the fossil neoanthrops’s skull made by anthropologist Gerasimov. Their appearance clearly attests to the fact that fossil neoanthrops already had slightly pronounced Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid racial characteristics. At the early stage of their development, neoanthrops widely settled on the planet using land bridges between continents. Hunting and foraging contributed to this fact.

Sedentarization in the neolithic age about eight-three thousand years BC resulted in greater isolation of certain population groups; local differences were gradually formed and accumulated at that time. Racial characteristics in human populations emerged as adaptive traits as a result of natural selection, for example, dark skin and dark curly hair protect people from the bright sun. Epicanthal fold at the inner corner of the eye resulting in slant of the eyes protected from the constant dust storms, and so on. But not all racial characteristics are the result of adaptation to the environment.

In case of people that are still living in isolation from the human community, racial characteristics that were formed under the influence of natural selection remain almost unchanged. Go to the pygmy figure in the right part of showcase 32