Why are people different by race? Formation of races on earth. White and dark skinned people

I have questions about why there are only 4 races on Earth? Why are they so different from each other? How do different races have skin colors that correspond to their area of ​​residence?

*********************

First of all, we will examine the settlement map of the “Modern Races of the World”. In this analysis we will not deliberately accept the position of either monogenism or polygenism. The purpose of our analysis and the entire study as a whole is precisely to understand exactly how the emergence of humanity occurred and its development, including the development of writing. Therefore, we cannot and will not rely in advance on any dogma - be it scientific or religious.

Why are there four different races on Earth? Naturally, four types of different races could not have come from Adam and Eve....

So, under the letter “A” on the map are races that, according to modern research, are ancient. These races include four:
Equatorial Negroid races (hereinafter referred to as “Negroid race” or “Negroids”);
Equatorial Australoid races (hereinafter referred to as the “Australoid race” or “Australoids”);
Caucasoid races (hereinafter referred to as “Caucasoids”);
Mongoloid races (hereinafter referred to as “Mongoloids”).

2. Analysis of modern mutual settlement of races.

The modern mutual settlement of the four main races is extremely interesting.

The Negroid races are settled exclusively in a limited area, located from the center of Africa to its southern part. There is no Negroid race anywhere outside of Africa. In addition, it is precisely the areas of settlement of the Negroid race that are currently the “suppliers” of Stone Age culture - in South Africa there are still areas within which the population still exists in a primitive communal way of life.

We are talking about the archaeological culture of Wilton (Wilton) of the late Stone Age, widespread in South and East Africa. In some areas it was replaced by the Neolithic with polished axes, but in most areas it existed until modern times: arrowheads made of stone and bone, pottery, beads made from ostrich egg shells; people of the Wilton culture lived in grottoes and in the open air, and hunted; agriculture and domestic animals were absent.

It is also interesting that on other continents there are no centers of settlement of the Negroid race. This, naturally, points to the fact that the birthplace of the Negroid race was originally precisely in that part of Africa that is located south of the center of the continent. It is worth noting that here we are not considering the later “migration” of Negroids to the American continent and their modern entry through the regions of France into the territory of Eurasia, since this is a completely insignificant effect in the long historical process.

Australoid races are settled exclusively in a limited area, located entirely in the north of Australia, as well as in extremely small fluctuations in India and on some isolated islands. The islands are so insignificantly populated by the Australoid race that they can be neglected when making estimates of the entire center of distribution of the Australoid race. The northern part of Australia can quite reasonably be considered this hotspot. It should be noted here that Australoids, like Negroids, for a reason unknown to today’s science, are located exclusively within one general area. Stone Age cultures are also found among the Australoid race. More precisely, those Australoid cultures that have not experienced the influence of Caucasians are predominantly in the Stone Age.

Caucasoid races are settled in the territory located in the European part of Eurasia, including the Kola Peninsula, as well as in Siberia, the Urals, along the Yenisei, along the Amur, in the upper reaches of the Lena, in Asia, around the Caspian, Black, Red and Mediterranean seas, in northern Africa , on the Arabian Peninsula, in India, on two American continents, in southern Australia.

In this part of the analysis, we should look at the area of ​​settlement of Caucasians in more detail.

Firstly, for obvious reasons, we will exclude from historical estimates the territory of distribution of Caucasians in the Americas, since these territories were occupied by them in not so distant historical times. The latest “experience” of Caucasians does not affect the history of the original settlement of peoples. The history of the settlement of humanity in general took place long before the American conquests of the Caucasians and without taking them into account.

Secondly, like the two previous races in the description, the territory of distribution of Caucasoids (from this point onwards, by “territory of distribution of Caucasians” we will understand only its Eurasian part and the northern part of Africa) is also clearly marked by the area of ​​their settlement. However, unlike the Negroid and Australoid races, the Caucasian race has achieved the highest flowering of culture, science, art, etc. among existing races. The Stone Age within the habitat of the Caucasian race was completed in the vast majority of areas between 30 and 40 thousand years BC. All modern scientific achievements of the most advanced nature were accomplished by the Caucasian race. One can, of course, mention and argue with this statement, referring to the achievements of China, Japan and Korea, but let’s be honest, all their achievements are purely secondary and use, we must give credit, successfully, but still use the primary achievements of Caucasians.

Mongoloid races are settled exclusively in a limited area, located entirely in the northeast and east of Eurasia and on both American continents. Among the Mongoloid race, as well as among the Negroid and Australoid races, Stone Age cultures are still found to this day.
3. On the application of Organism laws

The first thing that catches the eye of an inquisitive researcher looking at a map of the distribution of races is that the distribution areas of the races do not intersect each other in such a way that this concerns any noticeable territories. And, although at mutual borders the contacting races produce a product of their intersection, called “transitional races,” the formation of such mixtures is classified by time and is purely secondary and much later than the formation of the ancient races themselves.

In large part, this process of mutual penetration of ancient races resembles diffusion in the physics of materials. We apply the laws of Organism to the description of races and peoples, which are more unified and give us the right and opportunity to operate with the same ease and accuracy, both materials and peoples, and races. Therefore, the mutual penetration of peoples - the diffusion of peoples and races - is completely subject to Law 3.8. (numbering of laws, as is customary in) Organisms, which says: “Everything moves.”

Namely, not a single race (now we will not talk about the originality of one or the other) under any circumstances will remain motionless in any “frozen” state. We will not be able, following this law, to find at least one race or people that would arise in a certain territory at the moment of “minus infinity” and would remain within this territory until “plus infinity”.

And from this it follows that it is possible to develop laws of movement of populations of organisms (peoples).
4. Laws of movement of populations of organisms
Any people, any race, as, incidentally, not only real, but also mythical (vanished civilizations), always has a point of its origin that is different from the one under consideration and as earlier;
Any nation, any race is represented not by the absolute values ​​of its numbers and its certain area, but by a system (matrix) of n-dimensional vectors describing:
directions of settlement on the Earth's surface (two dimensions);
time intervals of such settlement (one dimension);
…n. values ​​of mass transfer of information about a people (one complex dimension; this includes both numerical composition and national, cultural, educational, religious and other parameters).
5. Interesting observations

From the first law of population movement and taking into account a careful examination of the map of modern distribution of races, we can deduce the following observations.

Firstly, even at present historical times, all four ancient races are extremely isolated in their areas of distribution. Let us recall that we do not consider hereinafter the colonization of the Americas by Negroids, Caucasians and Mongoloids. These four races have the so-called cores of their ranges, which in no case coincide, that is, none of the races in the center of their range coincides with the similar parameters of any other race.

Secondly, the central “points” (areas) of ancient racial regions even today remain quite “pure” in composition. Moreover, mixing of races occurs exclusively at the borders of neighboring races. Never - by mixing races that were not historically located in the same neighborhood. That is, we do not observe any mixtures of the Mongoloid and Negroid races, since between them is the Caucasoid race, which, in turn, mixes with both the Negroids and the Mongoloids precisely in the places of contact with them.

Thirdly, if the central points of settlement of races are determined by a simple geometric calculation, then it turns out that these points are located at the same distance from each other, equal to 6000 (plus or minus 500) kilometers:

Negroid point - 5° S, 20° E;

Caucasoid point – p. Batumi, the easternmost point of the Black Sea (41°N, 42°E);

Mongoloid point – ss. Aldan and Tomkot in the upper reaches of the Aldan River, a tributary of the Lena (58° N, 126° E);

Australoid point - 5° S, 122° E.

Moreover, the points of the central areas of settlement of the Mongoloid race on both American continents are also equidistant (and at approximately the same distance).

An interesting fact: if all four central points of settlement of races, as well as three points located in South, Central and North America, are connected, you will get a line resembling the bucket of the Ursa Major constellation, but inverted relative to its current position.
6. Conclusions

An assessment of the distribution areas of races allows us to draw a number of conclusions and assumptions.
6.1. Conclusion 1:

A possible theory suggesting the birth and settlement of modern races from one common point does not seem legitimate and justified.

We are currently observing precisely the process that leads to the mutual homogenization of races. Like, for example, the experiment with water, when a certain amount of hot water is poured into cold water. We understand that after some finite and quite calculated time, hot water will mix with cold water, and temperature averaging will occur. After which the water, in general, will become somewhat warmer than the cold water before mixing, and somewhat colder than the hot water before mixing.

The situation is the same now with the four old races - we are currently observing precisely the process of their mixing, when the races mutually penetrate each other, like cold and hot water, forming mestizo races in the places of their contact.

If the four races had formed from one center, then we would not now be observing mixing. Because in order for four to be formed from one entity, a process of separation and mutual dispersion, isolation, and accumulation of differences must occur. And the mutual cross-breeding that is now occurring serves as clear evidence of the reverse process - the mutual diffusion of the four races. The inflection point that would separate the earlier process of separation of races from the later process of their mixing has not yet been found. Convincing evidence of the objective existence of some moment in history from which the process of separation of races would be replaced by their unification has not been found. Therefore, the process of historical mixing of races should be considered a completely objective and normal process.

This means that initially the four ancient races had to be inevitably divided and isolated from each other. We will leave the question of the force that could take over such a process open for now.

This assumption of ours is convincingly confirmed by the race distribution map itself. As we previously revealed, there are four conventional points of initial settlement of the four ancient races. These points, by strange chance, are located in a sequence that has a clearly defined series of patterns:

firstly, each border of mutual contact of races serves as a division of only two races and nowhere as a division of three or four;

secondly, the distances between such points, by a strange coincidence, are almost the same and equal to about 6000 kilometers.

The processes of development of territorial spaces by races can be compared to the formation of a pattern on frosty glass - from one point the pattern spreads in different directions.

Obviously, the races, each in their own way, but the general type of settlement of the races was quite the same - from the so-called point of distribution of each race, it spread in different directions, gradually developing new territories. After quite an estimated time, the races sown 6000 kilometers from each other met at the boundaries of their ranges. Thus began the process of their mixing and the emergence of various mestizo races.

The process of building and expanding the areas of races fully falls within the definition of the concept of “organismic center of organization” when there are patterns that describe such a distribution of races.

The natural and most objective conclusion suggests itself about the existence of four separate centers of origin of four different – ​​ancient – ​​races, located at an equal distance from each other. Moreover, the distances and points of “seeding” of the races were chosen in such a way that if we tried to repeat such “seeding”, we would end up with the same option. Consequently, the Earth was inhabited by someone or something from 4 different areas of our Galaxy or our Universe....
6.2. Conclusion 2:

Perhaps the original placement of races was artificial.

A number of random coincidences in distances and equidistance between races leads us to believe that this was not accidental. Law 3.10. Organisms says: ordered chaos acquires intelligence. It is interesting to trace the work of this law in the reverse cause-and-effect direction. The expression 1+1=2 and the expression 2=1+1 are equally true. And, therefore, the cause-and-effect relationship in their members works in both directions equally.

By analogy with this, law 3.10. we can reformulate this way: (3.10.-1) intelligence is an acquisition due to the ordering of chaos. The circumstance when out of three segments connecting four seemingly random points, all three segments are equal to the same value cannot be called anything other than a manifestation of intelligence. To ensure that the distances match, you need to measure them accordingly.

In addition, and this circumstance is no less interesting and mysterious, the “miraculous” distance we identified between the points of origin of races is, for some strange and inexplicable reason, equal to the radius of planet Earth. Why?

By connecting the four points of sowing races and the center of the Earth (and they are all located at the same distance), we get a quadrangular equilateral pyramid, with its apex directed towards the center of the Earth.

Why? Where do clear geometric shapes come from in a seemingly chaotic world?
6.3. Conclusion 3:

About the initial maximum isolation of races.

Let's begin our consideration of the mutually pairwise settlement of races with the Negroid-Caucasian pair. Firstly, Negroids no longer come into contact with any other race. Secondly, between the Negroids and Caucasians lies the region of central Africa, which is characterized by an abundant spread of lifeless deserts. That is, initially the arrangement of Negroids relative to Caucasians ensured that these two races would have the least amount of contact with each other. There is some intent here. And also an additional argument against the theory of monogenism - at least in terms of the Negroid-Caucasian couple.

Similar features also exist in the Caucasoid-Mongoloid pair. The same distance between the conditional centers of race formation is 6000 kilometers. The same natural barrier to the mutual penetration of races is the extremely frosty northern regions and the Mongolian deserts.

The Mongoloid-Australoid pair also provides for maximum use of terrain conditions, preventing the mutual penetration of these races, which are approximately the same 6,000 kilometers apart.

Only in recent decades, with the development of means of transport and communications, the mutual penetration of races has not only become possible, but has also become widespread.

Naturally, in the course of our research these conclusions may be revised.
Final conclusion:

It can be seen that there were four race seeding points. They are equidistant both from each other and from the center of planet Earth. Races have only mutual-pair contacts. The process of mixing races is a process of the last two centuries, before which the races were isolated. If there was an intention in the initial settlement of races, then it was this: to settle the races so that they would not come into contact with each other for as long as possible.

This was probably an experiment to solve the problem of which race would best adapt to earthly conditions. And also, which race will be more progressive in its development....

Source - razrusitelmifov.ucoz.ru

The population of our planet is so diverse that one can only be surprised. What kind of nationalities and nationalities can you meet! Everyone has their own faith, customs, traditions, and orders. Its own beautiful and extraordinary culture. However, all these differences are formed only by people themselves in the process of social historical development. What lies behind the differences that appear externally? After all, we are all very different:

• dark-skinned;
• yellow-skinned;
• white;
• with different eye colors;
• different heights and so on.

Obviously, the reasons are purely biological, independent of people themselves and formed over thousands of years of evolution. This is how modern human races were formed, which explain the visual diversity of human morphology theoretically. Let's take a closer look at what this term is, what its essence and meaning are.

The concept of "race of people"

What is race? This 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 as given by the science of biology.

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

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

All those signs of Homo sapiens as a biological species that lead to the formation of a person’s external appearance, but do not in any way 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 completely identical biological springboards for the development of certain abilities. Their general karyotype is the same:

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

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

The species of human races, formed over approximately 80 thousand years, have adaptive significance. It has been proven that each of them was formed with the aim of providing a person with the opportunity for a normal existence in a given habitat and facilitating adaptation to climatic, relief and other conditions. There is a classification showing which races of Homo sapiens existed before, and which ones exist today.

Classification of races

She's 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 a classification became widespread that included 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 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. After all, completely contrasting external features often became the cause of racial strife and conflicts.

Genetic research in recent years allows us to again talk about the division of the equatorial group into two. Let's consider all 4 races of people who stood out earlier and became relevant again recently. Let us note the signs and features.

Australoid race

Typical representatives of this group include the indigenous inhabitants of Australia, Melanesia, Southeast Asia, and India. The name of this race is also Australo-Veddoid or Australo-Melanesian. All synonyms make it clear which small races are included in this group. They are as follows:

• Australoids;
• Veddoids;
• Melanesians.

In general, the characteristics of each group presented 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 is an elongated shape of the skull in relation to the proportions of the rest of the body.
2. Deep-set eyes, wide slits. The color of the iris is predominantly dark, sometimes almost black.
3. The nose is wide, with a pronounced flat bridge.
4. The hair on the body is very well developed.
5. The hair on the head is dark in color (sometimes among Australians there are natural blondes, which was the result of a natural genetic mutation of the species that once took hold). Their structure is rigid, they can be curly or slightly curly.
6. People are of average height, often above average.
7. The physique is thin and elongated.

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

Therefore, the general characteristics described above for the entire race are only an averaged version of their combined analysis. Naturally, crossbreeding also occurs - the mixing 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 or large race.

Negroid race

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

• 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 be united in the equatorial group. However, research in the 21st century has proven the inconsistency of this order. After all, the differences in the manifested characteristics between the designated races are too great. And some similar features are explained very simply. After all, the habitats of these individuals are very similar in terms of living conditions, therefore the adaptations in appearance are also similar.

So, the following characteristics are characteristic of representatives of the Negroid race.

1. Very dark, sometimes bluish-black, skin color, as it is especially rich in melanin content.
2. Wide eye shape. They are large, dark brown, almost black.
3. The hair is dark, curly, and coarse.
4. Height varies, often low.
5. The limbs are very long, especially the arms.
6. The nose is wide and flat, the lips are very thick and fleshy.
7. The jaw lacks a chin protrusion and protrudes forward.
8. The ears are large.
9. Facial hair is poorly developed, and there is no beard or mustache.

Negroids are easy to distinguish from others by their external appearance. 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, etc.

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

1. Narrow or oblique eye shape.
2. The presence of epicanthus - a specialized fold of skin aimed at covering the inner corner of the eye.
3. The color of the iris is from light to dark brown.
4. distinguished by brachycephaly (short head).
5. The superciliary ridges are thickened and strongly protruding.
6. Sharp, high cheekbones are well defined.
7. Facial hair is poorly developed.
8. The hair on the head is coarse, dark in color, and has a straight structure.
9. The nose is not wide, the bridge is located low.
10. Lips of different thicknesses, often narrow.
11. Skin color varies among different representatives from yellow to dark, and there are also light-skinned people.

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

Caucasian

First of all, let’s designate the predominant habitats of people from this group. This:

• Europe.
• North Africa.
• Western Asia.

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

1. Mesocephaly - medium-headedness in the structure of the skull.
2. Horizontal eye shape, lack of pronounced brow ridges.
3. A protruding narrow nose.
4. Lips of varying thickness, usually medium in size.
5. Soft curly or straight hair. There are blondes, brunettes, and brown-haired people.
6. Eye color ranges from light blue to brown.
7. Skin color also varies from pale, white to dark.
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 without error, even without using additional genetic data.

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

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

Origin of the races of man

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

• 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 led to a wider spread of people. As a result, some groups found themselves in difficult climatographic conditions.

This led to the development and consolidation 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 for the head and body in Negroids. And the narrow shape of the eyes protects them from sand and dust, as well as from being blinded by white snow among Mongoloids. The developed hair of Europeans is a unique way of thermal insulation in harsh winter conditions.

Another hypothesis is called polycentrism. She says that different types of human races descended from several ancestral groups that were unequally distributed around the globe. That is, there were initially several foci from which the development and consolidation of racial characteristics began. Again influenced by climatographic 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 possible to say for certain about the validity of this or that hypothesis, since there is no evidence of a biological and genetic nature, or at the molecular level.

Modern classification

The races of people, according to current scientists, have the following classification. There are two trunks, and each of them has three large races and many small ones. It looks something like this.

1. Western trunk. Includes three races:

• Caucasians;
• capoids;
• Negroids.

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

Small races of capoids: Bushmen and Khoisan. They inhabit South Africa. In terms of the fold above the eyelid, they are similar to the Mongoloids, but in other characteristics they differ sharply from them. The skin is not elastic, which is why all representatives are characterized by the appearance of early wrinkles.

Groups of Negroids: pygmies, nilots, blacks. All of them are settlers from different parts of Africa, so their appearance is similar. Very dark eyes, same skin and hair. Thick lips and lack of chin protuberance.

2. Eastern trunk. Includes the following large 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 are very tall and often have an epicanthus, especially in children. However, the eyes are not as narrow as those of the Mongoloids. They combine the characteristics of several races.

Australoids consist of several groups:

• Melanesians;
• Veddoids;
• Ainians;
• Polynesians;
• Australians.

Their characteristic features were 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 divided into many small ones, and they are compiled on the basis of not only small external distinctive features, but also include data from genetic studies, clinical tests, and facts of molecular biology.

Therefore, small races are what make it possible to more accurately reflect the position of each specific individual in the system of the organic world, and specifically, within the species Homo sapiens sapiens. What specific groups exist was discussed above.

Racism

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

However, from a scientific point of view, this theory is completely absurd and untenable. The genetic predisposition to the development of certain skills and abilities is the same among all peoples. Proof that all races are biologically equal is the possibility of free interbreeding between them while maintaining the health and vitality of the offspring.

Dr. Don Batten and Dr. Karl Wieland

What are "races"?

How did different skin colors come about?

Is it true that black skin is the result of Noah's curse?

According to the Bible, all people living on Earth descended from Noah, his wife, three sons and three daughters-in-law (and even earlier from Adam and Eve - Genesis 1-11). However, today there are groups of people called “races” living on Earth, whose external characteristics vary significantly. Many view this state of affairs as a reason to doubt the truth of biblical history. It is believed that these groups could only have arisen through separate evolution over tens of thousands of years.

The Bible tells us how the descendants of Noah, who spoke the same language and kept together, disobeyed the Divine command « fill the earth» (Genesis 9:1; 11:4). God confused their languages, after which the people split into groups and were scattered throughout the Earth (Genesis 11:8-9). Modern methods of genetics show how, after the separation of people, variations in external characteristics (for example, skin color) could develop in just a few generations. There is compelling evidence that the different groups of people we see in the modern world were not isolated from each other over vast periods of time.

In fact, on Earth "there is only one race"- a race of people, or the human race. The Bible teaches that God « from one blood... produced the entire human race" (Acts 17:26). The Holy Scripture distinguishes people by tribes and nations, and not by skin color or other features of appearance. At the same time, it is quite obvious that there are groups of people who have common characteristics (for example, the notorious skin color) that distinguish them from other groups. We prefer to call them "groups of people" rather than "races" to avoid evolutionary associations. Representatives of any nations can interbreed freely and produce fertile offspring. This proves that the biological differences between the “races” are very small.

In fact, the differences in DNA composition are extremely small. If you take any two people from any corner of the Earth, then the differences in their DNA will normally be 0.2%. Moreover, the so-called “racial characteristics” will amount to only 6% of this difference (that is, only 0.012%); everything else is within the range of “intra-racial” variations.

“This genetic unity means, for example, that a white American who is noticeably different from a black American in phenotype may be closer in tissue composition to him than another black American.”

Fig. 1 Caucasian and Mongoloid eyes differ in the amount of fat layer around the eye, as well as the ligament, which disappears in most non-Asian infants by six months of age.

Anthropologists divide humanity into several main racial groups: Caucasoid (or “white”), Mongoloid (including the Chinese, Eskimos and American Indians), Negroid (black Africans) and Australoid (Australian Aborigines). Almost all evolutionists these days accept that different groups of people could not have had different origins- that is, they could not have evolved from different species of animals. Thus, proponents of evolution agree with creationists that all groups of peoples descended from a single original population of the Earth. Of course, evolutionists believe that groups such as the Australian Aborigines and the Chinese were separated from the rest by tens of thousands of years.

Most people believe that such significant external differences could develop only for a very long time. One of the reasons for this misconception is this: many believe that external differences are inherited from distant ancestors who acquired unique genetic properties that others did not have. This assumption is understandable, but essentially incorrect.

Consider, for example, the issue of skin color. It is easy to assume that if different groups of people have yellow, red, black, white or brown skin, then there are different skin pigments. But since different chemicals imply a different genetic code in the gene pool of each group, a serious question arises: how could such differences develop in a relatively short period of human history?

In fact, we all have only one skin “dye” - melanin. This is a dark brown pigment produced in each of us in special skin cells. If a person does not have melanin (as in albinos - people with a mutational defect that prevents melanin from being produced), then their skin color is very white or slightly pinkish. The cells of “white” Europeans produce little melanin, while those of black-skinned Africans produce a lot; and in between, as is easy to understand, all shades of yellow and brown.

Thus, the only significant factor determining skin color is the amount of melanin produced. In general, no matter what property of a group of people we consider, it will, in fact, be simply a variant comparable to others inherent in other peoples. For example, the Asian eye shape differs from the European one, in particular, in a small ligament that slightly pulls the eyelid down (see Figure 1). All newborns have this ligament, but after six months of age it remains, as a rule, only in Asians. Occasionally, the ligament is preserved in Europeans, giving their eyes an Asian almond-shaped shape, and vice versa, in some Asians it is lost, making their eyes Caucasian.

What is the role of melanin? It protects the skin from ultraviolet rays of the sun. A person with a small amount of melanin under the strong influence of solar activity is more prone to sunburn and skin cancer. Conversely, if you have too much melanin in your cells and you live in a country where there is not enough sun, your body will have a harder time producing the required amount of vitamin D (which is produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight). A lack of this vitamin can cause bone diseases (for example, rickets) and some types of cancer. Scientists have also discovered that ultraviolet rays destroy folates (folic acid salts), vitamins necessary for strengthening the spine. Melanin helps conserve folate, so people with dark skin are better suited to living in areas with high levels of ultraviolet rays (tropics or high altitudes).

A person is born with a genetically determined ability produce melanin in a certain amount, and this ability is activated in response to sunlight - a tan appears on the skin. But how could such different skin colors arise in a short time? If a representative of a black group of people marries a “white” person, the skin of their descendants ( mulattoes) will be "medium brown" in color. It has long been known that mulatto marriages produce children with a wide variety of skin colors - from completely black to completely white.

Awareness of this fact gives us the key to solving our problem as a whole. But first we need to become familiar with the basic laws of heredity.

Heredity

Each of us carries information about our own body - as detailed as a drawing of a building. This “drawing” determines not only that you are a person and not a head of cabbage, but also what color your eyes are, what the shape of your nose is, and so on. At the moment the sperm and egg merge into a zygote, it already contains all information about the future structure of a person (excluding such unpredictable factors as, say, exercise or diet).

Much of this information is encoded in DNA. DNA is the most effective information storage system, many times superior to any sophisticated computer technology. The information recorded here is copied (and recombined) through the process of reproduction from generation to generation. The term "gene" means a piece of this information containing instructions for the production of, for example, just one enzyme.

For example, there is a gene that carries instructions for the production of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells. If this gene is damaged by mutation (a copying error during reproduction), the instructions will be incorrect - and, at best, we will get defective hemoglobin. (Such mistakes can lead to diseases such as sickle cell anemia.) Genes are always paired; Therefore, in the case of hemoglobin, we have two sets of codes (instructions) for its reproduction: one from the mother, the second from the father. The zygote (fertilized egg) receives half of the information from the father's sperm and the other half from the mother's egg.

This device is very useful. If a person inherits a damaged gene from one parent (and this dooms his cells to produce, say, abnormal hemoglobin), then the gene received from the other parent will be normal, and this will give the body the ability to produce normal protein. In the genome of each person there are hundreds of errors inherited from one of the parents, which do not appear, since each of them is “hidden” by the activity of another - a normal gene (see the booklet “Cain’s Wife - Who is She?”).

Color of the skin

We know that skin color is determined by more than one pair of genes. For simplicity, we assume that there are only two such (paired) genes, and they are located on the chromosomes in places A and B. One form of the gene, M, “gives the order” to produce a lot of melanin; another, m, – little melanin. According to location A, there can be paired combinations of MAMA, MAmA and mAmA, which give the skin cells a signal to produce a lot, not very much or little melanin.

Similarly, according to the location of B, there may be combinations of MVMV, MVmB and mBmB, also giving a signal to produce a lot, not very much or little melanin. Thus, people with very dark skin color may have a combination of genes such as MAMAMMV (see Figure 2). Since both sperm and eggs of such people can contain only MAMB genes (after all, only one gene from positions A and B can enter a sperm or egg), their children will be born only with the same set of genes as their parents.

Consequently, all these children will have very dark skin color. In the same way, light-skinned people with the mAmAmBmB gene combination can only have children with the same gene combination. What combinations can appear in the offspring of mulattoes with dark skin with a combination of MAMAMBmB genes - who are, for example, children from the marriage of people with the MAMAMBMB and mAmAmBmB genes (see Figure 3)? Let's turn to a special scheme - the “Punnet lattice” (see Figure 4). On the left are the genetic combinations possible for a sperm, on the top - for an egg. We select one of the possible combinations for the sperm and consider, going along the line, what results from its combination with each of the possible combinations in the egg.

Each intersection of a row and a column records the combination of genes of the offspring when a given egg is fertilized by a given sperm. For example, when a sperm with the MAmB genes and an egg mAMB fuse, the child will have the MAmAMBmB genotype, like his parents. Overall, the diagram shows that such a marriage can produce children with five levels of melanin content (shades of skin color). If we take into account not two, but three pairs of genes responsible for melanin, we will see that the offspring can have seven levels of its content.

If people with the MAMAMVMV genotype - “completely” black (that is, without genes that reduce melanin levels and lighten the skin at all) marry among themselves and move to places where their children cannot meet lighter-skinned people, then all of them the descendants will also be black - a pure “black line” will be obtained. Likewise, if "white" people (mAmAmBmB) marry only people of the same skin color and live in isolation without dating darker-skinned people, they will end up with a pure "white line" - they will lose the genes needed to produce large amounts of melanin, which provides dark skin color.

Thus, two dark-skinned people can not only produce children of any skin color, but also give rise to different groups of people with a stable skin tone. But how did groups of people with the same dark shade appear? This again is easy to explain. If people with the MAMAmBmB and mАmAMBMB genotypes do not enter into mixed marriages, they will produce only dark-skinned offspring. (You can check this conclusion yourself by constructing a Punnett lattice.) If a representative of one of these lines enters into a mixed marriage, the process will go backwards. In a short period of time, the offspring of such a marriage will demonstrate a full range of skin tones, often within the same family.

If all the people on Earth now freely intermarry, and then for some reason split into groups living separately, then a whole host of new combinations could arise: almond-shaped eyes with black skin, blue eyes and black curly short hair, and so on. Of course, we must remember that genes behave in much more complex ways than in our simplified explanation. Sometimes certain genes are linked. But this does not change the essence. Even today, within one group of people one can see traits usually associated with another group.

Figure 3. Multicolored twins born to mulatto parents are an example of genetic variations in skin color.

For example, you can meet a European with a wide, flat nose, or a Chinese with very pale skin or a completely European eye shape. Most scientists today agree that for modern humanity the term “race” has virtually no biological meaning. And this is a serious argument against the theory of the isolated development of groups of peoples over long periods of time.

What really happened?

We can reconstruct the true history of groups of people using:

1. information given to us by the Creator Himself in the Book of Genesis;
2. the scientific information stated above;
3. some considerations about environmental influences.

God created the first man, Adam, who became the progenitor of all people. 1656 years after the Creation, the Great Flood destroyed all of humanity, with the exception of Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives. The flood radically changed their habitat. The Lord confirmed His commandment to the survivors: to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth (Genesis 9:1). Several centuries later, people decided to disobey God and united to build a huge city and the Tower of Babel - a symbol of rebellion and paganism. From the eleventh chapter of the book of Genesis we know that up to this point people spoke a single language. God disgraced disobedience by confusing the languages ​​of men so that men could not act together against God. The confusion of languages ​​forced them to scatter throughout the Earth, which was the intention of the Creator. Thus, all "groups of people" arose simultaneously, with the confusion of languages ​​during the construction of the Tower of Babel. Noah and his family were probably dark-skinned—they had the genes for both black and white).

This average color is the most universal: it is dark enough to protect against skin cancer, and at the same time light enough to provide the body with vitamin D. Since Adam and Eve had all the factors that determine skin color, they probably also had dark-skinned, brown-eyed, with black or brown hair. In fact, most of the modern world's population has dark skin.

After the Flood and before the construction of Babylon, there was a single language and a single cultural group on Earth. Therefore, there were no obstacles to marriages within this group. This factor stabilized the skin color of the population, cutting off extremes. Of course, from time to time people were born with very light or very dark skin, but they intermarried freely with the rest, and thus the “average color” remained unchanged. The same applies to other characteristics, not just skin color. In circumstances that allow for free interbreeding, obvious external differences do not appear.

For them to manifest themselves, it is necessary to divide the population into isolated groups, eliminating the possibility of crossing between them. This is true for both animal and human populations, as any biologist knows well.

Consequences of Babylon

This is exactly what happened after the Babylonian Pandemonium. When God made people speak different languages, insurmountable barriers arose between them. Now they did not dare to marry those whose language they did not understand. Moreover, groups of people united by a common language had difficulty communicating and, of course, did not trust those who spoke other languages. They were forced to move away from each other and settled in different places. This is how God’s commandment was fulfilled: “Fill the earth.”

It is doubtful that each of the newly formed small groups contained people of the same wide range of skin colors as the original one. Carriers of dark skin genes could predominate in one group, and lighter skin in another. The same applies to other external signs: the shape of the nose, the shape of the eyes, and so on. And since now all marriages took place within one language group, each such trait no longer tended to the average, as it had previously. As people moved away from Babylon, they had to deal with new and unusual climatic conditions.

As an example, consider a group heading to cold regions where the sun shines weaker and less often. Black people there lacked vitamin D, so they got sick more often and had fewer children. Consequently, over time, light-skinned people began to predominate in this group. If several different groups headed north, and members of one of them lacked the genes that provide light skin, that group was doomed to extinction. Natural selection operates on the basis already existing signs, but does not form new ones. Researchers have discovered that, who in our days have already been recognized as full-fledged representatives of the human race, suffered from rickets, which indicates a deficiency of vitamin D in the bones. In fact, it was the signs of rickets, plus evolutionary prejudices, that for a long time forced Neanderthals to be classified as “ape-men.” "

Apparently, this was a group of dark-skinned people who found themselves in a natural environment that was unfavorable for them - due to the set of genes which they initially had. Let us note again that so-called natural selection does not create new skin color, but only selects from already existing combinations. Conversely, a group of fair-skinned people stranded in a hot, sunny region would likely suffer from skin cancer. Thus, in hot climates, dark-skinned people had a better chance of survival. So we see that environmental influences can

(a) influence the genetic balance within one group and

(b) even cause the extinction of entire groups.

This is why we currently see a correspondence between the most common physical characteristics of the population and the environment (for example, northern peoples with pale skin, dark-skinned inhabitants of the equator, and so on).

But this doesn't always happen. The Inuit (Eskimos) have brown skin, although they live where there is little sun. It can be assumed that initially their genotype was something like MAMAmBmB, and therefore their offspring could not be lighter or darker. The Inuit eat mainly fish, which contains a lot of vitamin D. Conversely, the indigenous people of South America living near the equator do not have black skin at all. These examples once again confirm that natural selection does not create new information - if the genetic pool does not allow you to change skin color, natural selection is not able to do this. African pygmies are inhabitants of hot regions, but they are very rarely exposed to the open sun, because they live in shady jungles. And yet their skin is black.

The Pygmies provide a prime example of another factor influencing human racial history: discrimination. People who deviate from the “norm” (for example, a very light-skinned person among blacks) are traditionally treated with hostility. It is difficult for such a person to find a spouse. This state of affairs leads to the disappearance of light skin genes in black people in hot countries and dark skin genes in light skinned people in cold countries. This was the tendency of groups to "purify".

In some cases, consanguineous marriages in a small group can cause the re-emergence of almost extinct characteristics that were "suppressed" by ordinary marriages. There is a tribe in Africa all of whose members have severely deformed feet; this trait appeared in them as a result of consanguineous marriages. If people with hereditary short stature were discriminated against, they were forced to seek refuge in the wilderness and marry only among themselves. Thus, over time, the “race” of pygmies was formed. The fact that the Pygmy tribes, according to observations, do not have their own language, but speak the dialects of neighboring tribes, is strong evidence in favor of this hypothesis. Certain genetic characteristics could prompt groups of people to consciously (or semi-consciously) choose where to settle.

For example, people genetically predisposed to denser subcutaneous fat layers were likely to leave regions that were too hot.

Common memory

The biblical story of the emergence of man is supported not only by biological and genetic evidence. Since all of humanity descended from the family of Noah relatively recently, it would be strange if the tales and legends of different peoples did not contain references to the Great Flood, even if somewhat distorted during oral transmission from generation to generation.

And indeed: in the folklore of most civilizations there is a description of the Flood that destroyed the world. Often these legends contain remarkable “coincidences” with the true biblical story: eight people saved in a boat, a rainbow, a bird sent in search of dry land, and so on.

So what's the result?

The Babylonian dispersion fragmented a single group of people, within which free interbreeding took place, into smaller, isolated groups. This led to the appearance in the resulting groups of special combinations of genes responsible for different physical characteristics.

The dispersion itself must, in a short time, have brought about the appearance of certain differences between some of these groups, commonly called "races." An additional role was played by the selective influence of the environment, which contributed to the recombination of existing genes to achieve exactly those physical characteristics that were required in given natural conditions. But there was and could not be any evolution of genes “from simple to complex,” because the entire set of genes existed. The dominant properties of different groups of people arose as a result of recombinations of an already existing set of created genes, taking into account minor degenerative changes as a result of mutations (random changes that can be inherited).

Originally created genetic information was either combined or degraded, but never increased.

What did false teachings about the origin of races lead to?

All tribes and peoples are descendants of Noah!

The Bible makes it clear that any "newly discovered" tribe certainly goes back to Noah. Therefore, at the very beginning of the tribe's culture, there was a) knowledge of God and b) possession of technology advanced enough to build a vessel the size of an ocean liner. From the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans we can conclude about the main reason for the loss of this knowledge (see Appendix 2) - the conscious renunciation of the ancestors of these people from serving the living God. Therefore, in helping the so-called “backward” peoples, the Gospel must come first, not secular education and technical assistance. In fact, the folklore and beliefs of most “primitive” tribes preserve memories of their ancestors turning away from the living Creator God. Dan Richardson of Child of Peace has shown in his book that a missionary approach that is not blinded by evolutionary prejudices and seeks to restore the lost connection has, in many cases, brought abundant and blessed fruit. Jesus Christ, who came to reconcile man who rejected his Creator with God, is the only Truth that can bring true freedom to people of any culture, of any color (John 8:32; 14:6).

Annex 1

Is it true that black skin is the result of Ham's curse?

Black (or rather dark brown) skin is just a special combination of hereditary factors. These factors (but not their combination!) were originally present in Adam and Eve. There are no instructions anywhere in the Bible that black skin color is the result of a curse that fell on Ham and his descendants. Moreover, the curse did not apply to Ham himself, but to his son Canaan (Genesis 9:18,25; 10:6). The main thing is that we know that the descendants of Canaan had dark skin (Genesis 10:15-19), not black.

False teachings about Ham and his descendants have been used to justify slavery and other unbiblical racist practices. African peoples are traditionally believed to be descended from the Hamites, as the Cushites (Cush - son of Ham: Genesis 10:6) are believed to have lived in what is now Ethiopia. The Book of Genesis suggests that the dispersion of people across the Earth occurred while maintaining family ties, and it is possible that the descendants of Ham were, on average, somewhat darker than, for example, the family of Japheth. However, everything could have been completely different. Rahab (Rahab), mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, belonged to the Canaanites, descendants of Canaan. Being from the clan of Ham, she married an Israeli - and God approved of this union. Therefore, it didn't matter what "race" she belonged to - all that mattered was that she believed in the true God.

The Moabite Ruth is also mentioned in the genealogy of Christ. She confessed her faith in God even before her marriage to Boaz (Ruth 1:16). God warns us against only one type of marriage: God's children with unbelievers.

Appendix 2

Stone Age people?

Archaeological finds indicate that once upon a time there were people on Earth who lived in caves and used simple stone tools. Such people live on Earth to this day. We know that the entire population of the earth came from Noah and his family. Judging by the book of Genesis, even before the Flood, people had developed technology that made it possible to make musical instruments, engage in agriculture, forge metal tools, build cities, and even build such huge ships as the Ark. After the Babylonian Pandemonium, groups of people - due to mutual hostility caused by the confusion of languages ​​- quickly scattered across the earth in search of refuge.

In some cases, stone tools could be used temporarily until people equipped their homes and found deposits of the metals necessary to make the usual tools. There were other situations when a group of immigrants initially, even before Babylon, did not deal with metal.

Ask members of any modern family: if they had to start life from scratch, how many of them would be able to find an ore deposit, mine it and smelt the metal? It is clear that the Babylonian dispersion was followed by technological and cultural decline. Harsh environmental conditions may also have played a role. The technology and culture of the Australian Aborigines is quite consistent with their way of life and the needs of survival in arid areas.

Let us at least recall the aerodynamic principles, knowledge of which is necessary to create various types of boomerangs (some of them return, others do not). Sometimes we see clear but difficult to explain evidence of decline. For example, when Europeans arrived in Tasmania, the technology of the Aboriginal people there was the most primitive imaginable. They did not fish, make or wear clothes. However, archaeological excavations have shown that the cultural and technological level of previous generations of aborigines was incomparably higher.

Archaeologist Rhys Jones claims that in the distant past they were able to sew elaborate clothing from skins. This is in stark contrast to the situation in the early 1800s, when Aboriginal people simply threw skins over their shoulders. There is evidence that in the past they caught fish and ate it, but stopped doing this long before the arrival of Europeans. From all this we can conclude that technical progress is not natural: sometimes accumulated knowledge and skills disappear without a trace. Followers of animist cults live in constant fear of evil spirits. Many basic and healthy things - washing or eating well - are taboo among them. This once again confirms the truth that the loss of knowledge of God the Creator leads to degradation (Romans 1:18-32).

Here's the Good News

Creation Ministries International is committed to glorifying and honoring God the Creator and affirming the truth that the Bible tells the true story of the origins of the world and man. Part of this story is the bad news of Adam's violation of God's command. This brought death, suffering and separation from God into the world. These results are known to everyone. All of Adam's descendants are afflicted with sin from the moment of conception (Psalm 51:7) and share in Adam's disobedience (sin). They can no longer be in the presence of the Holy God and are doomed to separation from Him. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and that all “shall suffer the punishment of everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9). But there is good news: God did not remain indifferent to our misfortune. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16).

Jesus Christ, the Creator, being sinless, took upon Himself the guilt for the sins of all mankind and their consequences - death and separation from God. He died on the cross, but on the third day he rose again, having conquered death. And now everyone who sincerely believes in Him, repents of their sins and relies not on themselves, but on Christ, can return to God and remain in eternal communion with their Creator. “He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”(John 3:18). Marvelous is our Savior and wonderful is salvation in Christ, our Creator!

Links and notes

1. Based on variations in mitochondrial DNA, attempts have been made to prove that all modern humans are descended from a single foremother (who lived in a small population approximately 70 to 800 thousand years ago). Recent discoveries in the rate of mutation of mitochondrial DNA have sharply shortened this period to the time frame specified by the Bible. See Lowe, L., and Scherer, S., 1997. Mitochondrial Eye: the plot thickens. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 12 (11):422-423; Wieland, C.,1998. A shrinking date for Eve. CEN Technical Journal, 12(1): 1-3. creationontheweb.com/eve

The problem of the origin of human races and their history have long interested people. Ordinary people were curious about how such a difference in individuals living in different parts of the world could be explained. Scientists, naturally, tried to find a scientific explanation for this fact. The most popular hypotheses of the origin of human races will be discussed in this article.

What are races

First, let's define these units. The races of the species Homo Sapiens are usually understood as relatively isolated groups - its systematic divisions. Their representatives are distinguished by a certain set of external characteristics, as well as their habitat. Races are relatively stable over time, although in the context of globalization and accompanying population migration, their characteristics may undergo certain changes. The origin and biology of the human races are such that genetically each of them has certain autosomal components. This is confirmed by scientific research.

Human races: their kinship and origin. Main races

They are well known to everyone: these are Caucasoid, Negroid (Negro-Australoid, Equatorial) and Mongoloid. These are the so-called big ones, or However, the list is not exhausted by them. In addition to them, there are so-called mixed races, in which signs of several main ones are present. They usually have several autosomal components characteristic of the main races.

The Caucasian race is characterized by relatively light skin compared to the other two. However, for people living in the Middle East and Southern Europe, it is quite dark. Its representatives have straight or wavy hair, light or dark eyes. The eye section is horizontal, the hairline is often moderate. The nose protrudes noticeably, the forehead is straight or slightly sloping.

Mongoloids have an oblique eye shape, the upper eyelid is noticeably developed. The inner corner of the eyes is covered with a characteristic fold - the epicanthus. Presumably, it helped protect the eyes of steppe inhabitants from dust. Skin color - from dark to light. The hair is black, hard, straight. The nose protrudes slightly and the face looks flatter than that of Caucasians. The hairline of Mongoloids is poorly developed.

Representatives of the Negroid race have lush curly hair, the darkest skin color among all major races, containing a large amount of eumelanin pigment. It is assumed that these features were formed for protection from the scorching sun of the equatorial region. Negroid noses are most often wide and somewhat flattened. The lower part of the face is protruding.

All races, like all of humanity, descend, according to research, from the first man - Proto-Adam, who lived on the territory of the African continent 180-200 thousand years ago. The kinship and unity of origin of the human races is thus obvious to scientists.

Intermediate races

Within the main ones, the so-called minor races are distinguished. They are presented in the diagram below. Small races (they are also intermediate), or, as they are also called, anthropological types, have a number of similar characteristics. In the diagram you can also see intermediate races that combine the characteristics of several main ones: Ural, South Siberian, Ethiopian, South Indian, Polynesian and Ainu.

Time of origin of races

Scientists believe that races arose relatively recently. According to one theory, first, about 80 thousand years ago, the Negroid and Caucasian-Mongoloid branches separated. Later, after about 40 thousand years, the latter split into Caucasoid and Mongoloid. Their final differentiation into (small races) and the spread of the latter occurred later, already in the Neolithic era. Scientists who have studied the origins of humans and human races at different times believe that their formation continued after the settlement. Thus, the characteristic features of the inhabitants of the Australian mainland, belonging to the large equatorial race, were formed much later. Researchers believe that at the time of settlement they had racially neutral characteristics.

There is no consensus on the origin of man and the human races and how they settled. Therefore, below we will consider two theories concerning this problem: monocentric and polycentric.

Monocentric theory

According to it, races appeared in the process of resettlement of people from the area of ​​their origin. In this case, it is likely that neoanthropes crossed with paleanthropes (Neanderthals) in the process of displacing the latter. This process is quite late, it took place about 35-30 thousand years ago.

Polycentric theory

According to this theory of the origin of human races, human evolution occurred in parallel, in several so-called phyletic lines. They, according to definition, represent a continuous series of successive populations (species), each of which is a descendant of the previous one and at the same time the ancestor of the next unit. The polycentric theory states that intermediate races had distinctive characteristics already in antiquity. These groups formed at the border of the main settlements and continued to exist parallel to them.

Intermediate theories

They allow for the divergence of phyletic groups at different stages of human evolution - paleoanthropes, neoanthropes. One such theory, according to which the equatorial and Mongoloid-Caucasian branches first formed, was briefly described above.

Modern settlement

As for the settlement of representatives of large and small races, it changes significantly over time. Thus, the Indians - representatives of the American branch of the Mongoloid race, which some scientists even identified as a separate, fourth (“red”), are now in the minority in their ancestral territories. The same can be said about the small Australian race. Its representatives in Australia are significantly inferior in numbers not only to Caucasians, but also to numerous migrants and their descendants belonging to Mongoloid races (mainly Far Eastern).

With the beginning of the Age of Discovery (mid-15th century), Caucasians began to actively explore and populate new territories, and are now found in all parts of the globe, on all continents. On the territory of modern Europe there are representatives of all anthropological groups of the Caucasian race, but the Central European type is still in the lead. In general, the racial composition of modern Europe, due to migrations and interracial marriages, as well as in the United States, is extremely variegated and diverse.

The Mongoloids are still leading in Asian countries, the equatorial race is in Africa, New Guinea, and Melanesia.

Changes in races over time

Naturally, small races could undergo certain changes over time. However, the question of how isolation affected their stability remains open. So, for example, the appearance of Australians who lived separately has practically not changed over several tens of millennia.

At the same time, the absence of significant changes is also typical for the Ethiopian and Far Eastern races. For at least five thousand years, the appearance of the inhabitants of Egypt has remained constant. Discussions about the racial origin of its inhabitants have been going on for many years. Proponents of the “black theory” are based on a study of Egyptian mummies, as well as surviving works of art, which showed that the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt had pronounced external signs of the equatorial race.

Supporters of the “white theory” are based on the appearance of modern Egyptians and believe that the representatives of the nation are the descendants of the ancient Semitic peoples who lived in this territory before the spread of the equatorial race.

However, some were formed much later. For example, the final formation of the South Siberian race took place in the 14th-16th centuries, despite the Tatar-Mongol invasion and the archaeologically confirmed penetration of Mongoloids into areas inhabited by Caucasians back in the 7th-6th centuries. BC.

In our time, thanks to globalization and intensive migration, there is active miscegenation, mixing both within the main races and between them. For example, in Singapore the number of such marriages today is more than 20%. As a result of mixing, people are born with various combinations of characteristics, including those that were previously extremely rare. For example, the combination of light eye color and dark skin is no longer uncommon in the Cape Verde Islands.

In general, this process is positive, since thanks to it, various racial groups acquire useful dominant traits that were not previously characteristic of them, and avoid the accumulation of recessive ones, which entails various genetic disorders and diseases.

Instead of a conclusion

The article briefly talked about human races and their origins. The unity and commonality of all representatives of Homo Sapiens has been confirmed by many years of research.

It is obvious that differences in the level of development of certain groups of people are caused primarily by the peculiarities of the conditions of their existence. Therefore, the racial theory that was so popular in the past in Western countries is morally outdated. The intellectual and other abilities of representatives of different races are not affected by their origin, appearance and skin color. And thanks to globalization, when people of different races were placed on equal footing due to resettlement, this point of view was confirmed.

09.02.2017 16:38 1340

How did human races appear on planet Earth?

There are a lot of people living on our planet and they are all different. People are divided into races. A race is a large group of people that have common physical and external features: skin color, hair, cut and eye color, etc. How did they appear? Or maybe people have always been divided into races?

There are three main races on our planet: Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Equatorial. Each large race is further subdivided into smaller races. The Caucasian race includes the population of Europe, the Caucasus, India, Southwest Asia, northern Africa, and America. Its representatives are characterized by light or dark skin, light eye color, straight or wavy soft hair, they have thin lips and a narrow nose.

The Mongoloid race is the indigenous population of Asia (with the exception of India) and America (from the northern Eskimos to the Indians of Tierra del Fuego). The Mongoloid race is characterized by dark or light skin, coarse straight dark hair, a wide flat face with large cheekbones, narrow eyes and protruding lips.

In the equatorial race, there are two large branches - African (Negroid) and Australian - these are the blacks of West Africa, the Bushmen, the pygmies, the aborigines of Australia and the Melanesians. They have dark skin color, dark, spirally curled or wavy coarse hair, dark eye color, thick lips and a wide, slightly protruding nose with wide nostrils.

Each race has its own specific geographic region. It is precisely because of this that the specific external features of representatives of a certain race are formed, as a result of adaptation to certain environmental conditions.

Well, we have become familiar with the concept of race. Now you probably want to know how the races of people arose? According to one scientific version, they were formed 12 thousand years ago. That is, until this time, according to scientists, our distant ancestors did not have any racial differences.

Another scientific version claims that racial differences have always existed, but they were not similar to modern ones. Races appeared as a result of the settlement and geographic isolation of the ancestors of modern people in different natural and climatic conditions.

Racial characteristics are hereditary; they arose in the distant past under the influence of the environment in which people lived. Some of them appeared as a result of human adaptability to living conditions.

For example, the dark skin of representatives of the Negroid race protects the body from bright sunlight. And in curly hair, air layers are created that protect from heat. A wide nose and thick, swollen lips contribute to the rapid evaporation of moisture with high heat transfer.

The fair skin of Caucasians allows ultraviolet rays to pass through and thus helps the body produce vitamin E, protecting them from rickets. The narrow, protruding nose warms the inhaled air. And some of the characteristics of the Mongoloids are the result of adaptation to the harsh climate of Central Asia, often with dust storms.