Races of man, their origin and unity. Origin of human races

For more than a century, various expeditions of anthropologists have been working in various parts of the globe, studying the diversity of humankind. Tribes have been studied in the most inaccessible areas (in tropical forests, deserts, highlands, islands), and as a result, modern humanity has been studied in morphological and physiological terms, perhaps better than any other biological species. Research has revealed the exceptional diversity of physical and genotypic characteristics of human populations and their fine adaptation to living conditions. Research has also shown that, although modern humanity belongs to one single species, Homo sapiens, this species is polymorphic, as it forms several different intraspecific groups, which have long been called races.

Race (French race - “genus”, “breed”, “tribe”) is a historically established intraspecific grouping consisting of Homo sapiens populations characterized by similar morphophysiological and mental properties. Each race is distinguished by a set of hereditarily determined characteristics. Among them: skin color, eyes, hair, features of the skull and soft parts of the face, body size, height, etc.

External features of the structure of the human body were the main criteria for dividing humanity into races. Modern humanity is divided into three main races: Negroid, Mongoloid and Caucasian.

The Negroid race is characterized by dark skin color, curly, spirally twisted hair (on the head and body), a wide and slightly protruding nose, and thick lips. The Negroid race includes the blacks of West Africa, Bushmen, Pygmy Negritos, Hottentots, Melanesians and aborigines of Australia. There are two large branches of the Negroid race - African and Australian. Groups of the Australian branch are characterized, in contrast to the African branch, by wavy hair type.

The Mongoloid race is distinguished by dark or light skin, straight and fairly coarse hair, a flattened face shape, prominent cheekbones, protruding lips, a narrow palpebral fissure, a strong development of the upper eyelid fold and the presence of an epicanthus, or “Mongolian fold.” Epicanthus is a fold of skin in the area of ​​the corner of the human eye, covering the lacrimal tubercle; It is especially strongly developed in children and women and occurs more often in women than in men. The Mongoloid group includes all the indigenous populations of Asia (with the exception of India) and America. The Americanoids are distinguished as a special branch in the Mongoloid race, i.e. indigenous people of America (from northern Eskimos to Tierra del Fuego Indians). They differ from Asian Mongoloids in two features - significant protrusion of the nose and the absence of epicanthus, which brings them closer to Caucasians.

The Caucasian race is characterized by light or dark skin, straight or wavy soft hair, a narrow protruding nose, light (blue) eye color, thin lips, a narrow and wide head. Caucasians inhabit Europe, the Caucasus, southwestern Asia, northern Africa, India and are part of the population of America.

Within each race, small races, or subraces (anthropological types), are distinguished. For example, the Caucasian group includes the Atlanto-Baltic, Indo-Mediterranean, Central European, Balkan-Caucasian and White Sea-Baltic. Within the Mongoloid - North Asian, Arctic, Far Eastern, South Asian and American. There are also several subraces within the Negroid race. According to the concept, which does not take into account origin, large races are divided into 22 small ones, some of which are transitional. The very existence of transitional races testifies to the dynamism of racial characteristics. Transitional small races combine not only morphological characteristics, but also the genetic characteristics of large ones. Social factors and environmental features have determined the differences between races and their subraces in connection with human settlement around the globe.

Racial characteristics are hereditary, but at present they do not have significant significance for human life. Therefore, now representatives of different races often live in the same territory. But in the distant past, when the influence of social factors was still small, of course, many of the characteristics characteristic of a particular race were an adaptation to certain physical, geographical and climatic conditions of the external environment and were developed under the influence of natural selection.

For example, the dark coloring of the skin and hair of the inhabitants of the equatorial regions of the Earth arose as protection from the burning effects of ultraviolet rays of the sun. The blacks of Africa have developed a high, elongated cranium, which is heated less than a round and low one. Curly hair, which creates an air layer around the head, has developed as protection against overheating when exposed to hot sun rays; thick lips, a wide nose, and elongated body proportions with low weight emerged as ways to increase body surface area, useful for thermoregulation (heat loss) in hot climates. The type with wider body proportions relative to volume developed in climate conditions with significant negative temperatures. The flat face of the Mongoloids with a slightly protruding nose turned out to be useful in conditions of a sharply continental climate and strong winds; moreover, the smooth, streamlined surface is less susceptible to frostbite.

Many morphological characteristics of races serve as evidence that the natural environment, its abiotic and biotic factors had a great influence in race formation. Like the entire living world, in man during the period of his formation, external conditions caused variability and the appearance of various adaptive properties, and natural selection preserved the most successful adaptation options. Adaptive properties of the race were manifested not only in appearance, but also in human physiology, for example, in the composition of the blood, the characteristics of fat deposition, and the activity of metabolic processes.

These differences arose in connection with the settlement of people in new habitats. It is believed that Homo sapiens formed along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea and in northeastern Africa. From these areas, the first Cro-Magnons settled in Southern Europe, throughout South and East Asia up to Australia. Through the northeastern tip of Asia they came to America - first to the west of North America, from where they descended to South America.

Races began to form during the process of human settlement of different territories of the Earth about 40-70 thousand years ago, i.e., even at the stage of the early Cro-Magnon man. At that time, many racial characteristics had great adaptive significance and were fixed by natural selection in a certain geographical environment. However, with the development of social relations (communication, speech, joint hunting, etc.) and the strengthening of social factors, the influence of the environment, as well as the pressure of natural selection, ceased to be a shaping force for humans. Despite the emergence of numerous racial differences in morphological and physiological characteristics, reproductive isolation between human races did not occur. The races also do not differ much in intellectual potential and mental abilities.

Active movement around the planet and the resulting joint settlements of many people in the same territories have shown that the isolation of human races, their morphological, physiological and mental differences as a result of mixed marriages is reduced and even lost. This serves as convincing confirmation of the unity of the Homo sapiens species and proof of the biological equivalence of all human races. Racial differences concern only the characteristics of morphology and physiology, but they are variations of the single heredity of man as a species.

Despite the diversity of races of modern man, they are all representatives of one single species. The presence of fertile marriages between people of different races confirms their genetic non-isolation, which indicates the integrity of the species. The unity of the Homo sapiens species is ensured by their common origin, the unlimited ability to interbreed between people of different races and ethnic groups, as well as the same level of their general physical and mental development.

anthropogenesis ancestor human race

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 Caucasoid-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.

Class: 11

Chapter: Origin of man (lesson 7).

Subject. Human races, their origin and unity.

The purpose of the lesson: reveal the biological characteristics of human races, analyze the reasons for their occurrence.

Lesson objectives:

educational: formation of the concept of the unity of origin and biological equivalence of human races, development in students of the correct approach to assessing racism, Nazism, social Darwinism, etc.;

correctional and developmental: contribute development of skills and abilities of group and individual work; skills to analyze, compare, draw conclusions; formation of general educational skills: comparing and summarizing, working with text, demonstration multimedia material;

educating: development of communicative qualities: the ability to work in a group, reasonably express one’s opinion, respect the opinions of comrades; development of a sense of beauty, nurturing a caring attitude towards living things.

Methods: problematic, partially searching, reflective.

Materials and equipment: personal computer, multimedia projector, screen, presentation for the lesson, assignments, project folder, demonstration material: textbooks, reference books, literature on human origins, questions for discussion in groups, calculator, geographical map “Natural areas”.

Key concepts and terms: human races, nation, racism.

Interdisciplinary connections: ecology, literature, art, Russian language, geography.

Resources Internet :

1. http://images.yandex.ru

2. http://www.ecosystema.ru

3. http://search.icq.com

4. http://bufodo.apus.ru/index2.html

5. htm://www.nerungri.edu.ru

Literature:

1. Journal "Biology" (kgaz appendix "First of September"), No. 42, 2004

2. Electronic publication “Biology. 6th – 11th grade. Laboratory workshop.

3. Great Encyclopedia of Cyril and Methodius [Electronic resource]. Cyril and Methodius, with changes and additions., 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001.

4. Myths of the peoples of the world - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1992 - T. 1. - 671 p.

5. N.N. Vorontsov, A.N. Sukhorukova “Evolution of the organic world.” M.P. 1991.

6. A.N. Melnichenko “The origin and development of man.” M.P. 1988.

7. Yu.I. Semenov “How humanity arose.” M. "Science" 1986

8. E.A. Kiseleva “Book for reading on Darwinism”. M.P. 1980.

9. Magazines "Biology at school".

10. Zabylin M. Russian people, their customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry. - M. 1980 - 607 p.

DURING THE CLASSES

The path of development of all mankind was the same - through labor, through the organization and development of society. When people achieved a certain adaptation to an upright gait and work activity, the evolution of their physical makeup slowed down and was reduced to the evolution of small secondary characteristics. For this reason, there is currently only one species of human living on Earth. Belonging to one species is indicated by the unity of structure in all people of the brain, feet, hands, i.e., the leading characteristics determined by the human path of development, as well as the easy interbreeding and fertility of offspring.

Humanity forms several groups, which have long been called races. European peoples belong to the Caucasian race. Some peoples of Asia and America belong to the Mongoloid race (Mongols, Buryats, Chinese, etc.). The majority of African peoples are of the Negroid race. All races are on the same biological level. The differences between them lie in the characteristics of skin color, hair, eyes, etc. Such differences once arose among different groups of people living in diverse natural conditions. For example, dark skin pigmentation may have arisen as a protective adaptation of the body against the bright rays of the sun in African countries. With the development of social relations, the isolation of human races and the morphological differences between them are reduced as a result of mixed marriages.

In bourgeois countries, the so-called racial theory has become widespread. Its essence lies in the assertion that human races are supposedly unequal: some are superior, others are inferior. Racists believe that the reason for the economic and cultural backwardness of some peoples lies in their “racial biological inferiority.”

Racists do not recognize the unity of origin of races. In their opinion, the Caucasoid race originated from Neanderthal, the Mongoloid race from Sinanthropus, and the Negroid race originated from Australopithecus; Meanwhile, it is well known that Neanderthal man was distributed throughout the Old World.

The false theory of dividing races into “superior” and “inferior” is aimed at justifying imperialist wars, colonial policies and racial discrimination.

It is not racial differences, but the colonial policy of imperialist countries, the oppression of some peoples by others - that is the reason for the backwardness of some peoples economically and culturally. The best proof of this situation is the flourishing of the economy and culture of all nationalities (over 100) in the USSR, after the Great October Socialist Revolution.

The liberation of many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America from colonial dependence and oppression, which has occurred in recent years, shows how quickly the peoples of these countries are moving along the path of civilization and development of their economies.

Human races, their origin and unity

Lesson as part of the competition “Tolerance” (10th grade)

Lesson objectives: developing knowledge about the biological characteristics of human races, analyzing the reasons for their occurrence, developing the concept of the unity of origin and biological equivalence of human races, developing in students the correct approach to assessing racism, Nazism, social Darwinism, etc.

Equipment: “Human Races” table.

During the classes

You have probably heard the phrase more than once: “All people are brothers and sisters.” Do you agree with this statement? (Answers: yes.)

But if this phrase is true, we can assume that everyone in this class is related. Do you agree with this too? (Answers: no.)

And I claim that everyone here is truly brothers and sisters, and I offer you a mathematical proof of this.

You have parents. And your parents have parents too. So, in each previous generation, the number of your ancestors doubles. Do you agree with this? (Answer: yes.)

Let's draw a diagram. (Draws a diagram on the board.)

Now it is easy to calculate that approximately 80 generations ago the number of your ancestors exceeded 6 billion people, and this is the current population of our planet. At what age do people usually have children? Let's stop at age 25. Multiplying 25 by 80, we get 2000, i.e. 2 thousand years ago, 6 billion of your ancestors lived on Earth. Please note that the population of the planet was then many times smaller. What do you think explains the fact that the number of your ancestors at that time must have been many times greater than the population of the planet? (Students’ answers.) Now you can answer the question, is there any truth in the phrase “all people are brothers and sisters”?

But 28 generations ago, the number of your ancestors, according to the diagram, would have been 314,217,728 people. And these ancestors of yours lived 750 years ago (25ґ28=750). Today, 147 million people live in Russia, and at that time – many times less. So are we related or not? Let me clarify right away that they are not very close.

I think you have a reason to think about how to treat each other. Well, now let's remember what branch of biology we are studying now. (Answers: “The Origin of Man.”)

The topic of today's lesson: “Human races, their origin and unity.”

(Students, with the help of the teacher, formulate the objectives of the lesson: find out the causes of the emergence of races, study the biological characteristics of races, prove the unity of origin and biological equivalence of human races.)

Race is a collection of people who have a genetic and physiological commonality, an origin that is associated with an area. Remember the concepts of species and population. Let's give their full definitions. (Students' answers.)

Based on these definitions, explain the reasons for the emergence of different races. (Students' answers.)

Using species criteria, try to prove the biological equivalence of the races and the unity of their origin. (Students' answers.)

Let's summarize what we have learned.

Modern humanity is represented by... (Answer: a single biological species.)

A single species - Homo sapiens - consists of... (Answer: races that have the same level of physiological and psychological perfection.)

Independent work

(The class is divided into 4 groups, each group studying “its own race.”)

Using the textbook, study the biological characteristics of the races and fill out the table.

A nation is a collection of people united by a common language, territory and economic structure.

(Short messages from students on the topics: race studies, social Darwinism, racism and Nazism. During the messages, the essence of these teachings is revealed. Students express their opinions on the messages. Messages are accompanied by comments from the teacher.)

Today, in the era of human integration and economic globalization, there is a process of erasing international boundaries. There is a very large number of interethnic marriages. One might even say that such a concept as a nation is beginning to lose its meaning. Moreover, many marriages arise between representatives of different races, which, in turn, affects the smoothing of boundaries between races. Nowadays, representatives of different races participate equally in such areas of human activity as sports, art, science, economics and politics. All together, this once again proves the groundlessness of the concepts of Nazism and racism, and that is why we all need to fully realize that we are all equal, equal, and have the same rights and freedoms. Well, returning to the beginning of the lesson, we can say that we are all brothers and sisters. Therefore, we need to treat each other with great respect and understanding. But nationality and race do not matter.