Re: Races: The Logical Guess?

SumDumGuy (frank.moore@sandiegoca.ncr.com)
Fri, 03 Jan 1997 08:43:01 -0800

Glenn J. Conrad wrote:
>Consider the following scenario/explanation/theory: The group
> commonly referred to as Asian was a primary human subtype.
> Chimpanzee-like human ancestors developed into this type first. It is a
> type adapted to forest-inhabitation: medium skin because of no
> excessive exposure to sunlight. Straight hair, because of no excessive
> exposure to heat. Curly hair allows evaporation of perspiration from
> the head at increased rates for more efficient cooling. As the
> rainforest becomes overpopulated with the Asian types, food must be
> secured from outside the rain forest to support the growing population.
> Warfare likely over resources. A sub-group of the Asian type is ejected
> onto the harsh grassland, where they must survive heat, radiation, no
> familiar food, quick-moving animal attacks, etc. They must chase and
> capture faster animals for food or raid the rain forest. This is the
> environmental change that produced the type now known as African.
> Examine the differences between Asians and Africans and you get the
> story. Curly hair to aid in heat dissipation. Large buttock muscles to
> aid in chasing fast prey on the ground. Tallness to see over the grass
> for predator avoidance and food identification. Large, fleshy nose and
> lips to aid in heat dissipation. Larger male sex organs to penetrate
> more fully for improved fertility; needed because the larger buttocks
> get in the way.

This last point is not well thought out.

>More active sweat glands to dissipate heat. Remember,
> black skin protects from sun radiation, but increases heat absorbed by
> the body. The head is especially vulnerable to heat because of brain
> temperature limitations. Curly can absorb radiation heat without
> transmitting it to the skull, while providing extra protection for the
> perspiring scalp. Don't forget that physical characteristics are also
> affected by selection for sexual attractiveness as well as by
> environmental concerns. Now we have two types. And the new adaptations
> have expanded the food supply, so the new African population has the
> opportunity to grow. The rain forest is still a more hospitable
> environment than the grass, so it can be expected that once the African
> population grows large enough to overpower the forest dwellers, they
> will in turn put the Asians out of the forest. Now these Asians must
> adapt or die. They must also move away from the likely productive
> grasslands being occupied by the Africans, since a state of war exists
> and Asians are outnumbered. Some groups will become Africanized if they
> continue to dwell on the plains. Others will look for a new rain
> forest, and eventually find one in East Asia. Both types will
> eventually populate the viable land areas between the new Asian
> settlement and the African settlements. This creates a transitional
> gradient of mixed race between the two geographical areas. If you
> examine the data, this is in agreement to it. The Europeans are
> derived from peoples with a various mixture of both racial types, Asian
> and African. Light features are revered in most dark-skinned
> populations, since they are rare. One reason for this rarity is that
> tropical environments disfavor the survival of light-skinned
> individuals. Once humans adapted to living in colder, shadier,
> environments, the potential for survival increases for light-skinned
> individuals. Mountains in central Asia present such a climate, and when
> these areas become populated, migration to other suitable environments
> can progress from necessity. Of course, these light-skinned groups will
> not migrate back to tropical areas, which are likely to be
> overpopulated anyway. They spread north into Europe. Nordic groups
> appear to have more Asian ancestry when compared to the Mediterranean
> groups: straighter hair, proportionally larger calf muscles, etc.
> Adaptations to cold weather can confuse understanding of this,
> somewhat.
> Cold weather favors large bodies, long nasal passages for warming
> inhaled air, thinner facial features, as heat dissipation is not so
> important in this environment.

It is also possible that they mixed with Neanderthals who may have
been light-skinned, had large bodies, etc.

>Looks like climate logically explains a
> lot. Now we need to test this theory. Your input will be
>appreciated.
> Glenn.

It is also colder in Europe than Africa. Movement was slower. No need
to run fast. European stock seems to dominate strength sports. African
stock tends to dominate speed sports. This tends to support your
thoery.