Page 37 - SurrenderTheBaggage-FBK
P. 37
from ancient and modern subjects, a plethora of
evidence has been compiled that makes it clear that
population, not racial, differences do exist within the
human species. Thus, race should neither be equated
with ethnicity, which has a sociological meaning.
Ethnicity is a self-described category that has three
components—ancestry, language, and culture—that all
8
have affinities to certain ancestral groups.
Some genetic differences exist between groups.
However, these do not correspond to historical racial
categories. For instance, there are populational
differences in the frequency of ABO blood types, skin
color, hair type, facial structures, and height. Skin color,
for example, is an adaptation to sunlight that provides
protection from skin cancer, yet at the same time allows
for vitamin D production for calcium absorption. Darker
skin provides more protection, while lighter skin allows
more penetration in regions where the sun is less
intense and the climate more temperate. Like skin
color, body height is also considered a genetic trait,
which is very much affected by inheritance, as well as
environmental stressors (such as malnutrition, infectious
disease, poverty). Nonetheless the amount of disparity
within groups dwarfs the small differences between
groups; consequently, race in humans does not have a
biological connotation.
Copyright 2020 37
