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

mloots@medic.up.ac.za
Tue, 5 Sep 1995 13:09:34

Allan Dunn writes:

>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.

<snip>

>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

Quite correct you are there.

>"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.

Very useful in quite a few instances.
You come across someone - but not just anyone.
This person is been dead.
Has been dead for quite a while though.

1. He/she? has been dead for 500 years.
Was he/she? from Negroid or Capoid origin?

2. He/she? has been dead for 5 months.
Was he/she? black or white or coloured?

Very useful and quite neccesary very often.

Maestro