Re: Homo Sapiens needs to be classified in sub species.

Allan Dunn (adunn@sun.lclark.edu)
2 Sep 1995 04:58:21 GMT

Jong (jong@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk) wrote:
: The genetic and phenotypic differences between so called
: races maybe big enough to sub classify the human species.
: While we subdivide various other species into sub species,
: due to political and social worries, anthropologists are failing
: to do it. As there is inconsistency in making subspecies
: due to real difficulty and simple lack of coordination between
: classifiers the issue does not necessarily mean people tabooed
: it. Also, the population seems to be more open to interethnic
: marriage due to recent geographical and socioeconomical factors.
: Even so, anthropology should be able to provide information
: on the differences between group's people.

: Jong.

Why? This sounds like turn of the century ethnology. Caucasian,
Mongoloid, Australoid, Negroid. It seems to me though, that human groups
differ far more in behavior due to cultural differences than in actual
"racial" differentiation. For example, it is far more revealing in what a
person is wearing and what language they are speaking than the color of
their skin, their stature, or their facial features. The line between
different racial groups can get quite blurry- skin color differentiation,
blood chemistry, morphology, are all relatively independent of one another
except in very isolated peoples.
I wonder why it would be useful at all? If anyone has insight on
this I would like to know.

AD