In apartheid South Africa (1948-94) inhabitants were classed into blacks, whites, coloured and Indian. Rights of majority ‘non-whites’ were curtailed and minority rule by white people was maintained.

Blacks were the most inferior and deprived of citizenship. “Unlawful racial intercourse” was made illegal.

During Stalin’s years in power in the Soviet Union, potential trouble-making ethnic groups were identified and seen as

enemies of workers and anti-Soviet. These included Romanians, Koreans and Jews. They were completely or partially deported

(sent to live elsewhere) – a form of ethnic cleansing.

In Nazi Germany, Hitler sought the production of a master, pure, Aryan Race. He believed in parasitic races which were harmful

to society and the lowest groups included Gypsies and Jews. The Nazis exploited racism in their propaganda.

The Khmer Rouge was the name given to the followers of the communist government in Cambodia 1975-9. The KR were xenophobic, believing Khmer were the one authentic people capable of true communism. They

arrested, tortured and then executed anyone suspected of belonging to the enemy category. This included ethnic Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai and other

minorities. It also included the educated.

During the Congo Civil War, there were reports of Mbuti Pygmies being hunted down and eaten as if animals. By some groups Pygmies were seen as subhuman and there was widespread

use of Pygmies as slaves.

The Rwandan genocide of 1994 involved the mass killing of Tutsis by Hutu. The identification of each was largely based on skin colour with Tutsis, the minority group, being lightly coloured

Rwandans and Hutu, the majority group, being of darker skin.

Starter: What is ‘race’?

YOUR TASK (1)

Sort the cards into those which you feel are definitions of ‘race’ and

those you feel are not.

Working in pairs please!

5 minutes

AS Anthropology

ANTH1 Being Human

Lesson 12: What is race? How can we account for physical differences?

By the end of the lesson YOU will:

• Be able to distinguish race as a cultural construct from race as a biological given.

• Have understood the links between power and the use of racial classification.

• Have identified changes in the ideas of race and be able to offer a definitions of race.

Does ‘race’ exist?

• We cannot dispute the fact that physical variations between humans exist.

• Biologically speaking, race is:a group of organisms of same species that share similar physical and genetic attributes and are sub-divisions, or subspecies, of a single species.

• Anthropology has helped to demonstrate that race is meaningless as we are all homo sapiens sapiens species.

How can we account for physical variation?

• Our species has mainly adapted through cultural means (eg surviving our environments through the use of artefacts and complex behaviour) but the human bodies have also biologically adapted to certain conditions over time…

How can we account for physical variation?

• Two main ways bodies have biologically adapted over the span of generations…

• Skin colour• Body stature

How can we account for physical variation?

• Skin colour• Anthropologist Nina Jablonski theorizes that variations in human skin are adaptive

traits that correlate closely to geography and the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, not race.• "Over the course of evolution, human ancestors became bigger and more active as

they moved into hot, open environments in search of food and water. In these places, one big challenge was keeping cool. The adaptation they made was to increase the number of sweat glands on their skin while at the same time reducing the amount of their body hair," explains Jablonski. With less hair, perspiration could evaporate more easily and cool the body more efficiently. "But this less-hairy skin was a problem because it was exposed to a very strong sun, especially in lands near the equator." Strong sun exposure damages the body. "The solution was to evolve skin that was permanently dark so as to protect against the sun’s more damaging rays."

• Scientists also know that a certain amount of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun helps the human body use vitamin D to absorb the calcium necessary for strong bones. However, too much UVR can strip away folate (folic acid), an essential nutrient to the development of healthy fetuses. Skin pigmentation developed as the body’s way of balancing its need for vitamin D and folate. Those closer to the equator had darker skin to prevent folate deficiency.

• Jablonski continues, "As some groups moved into regions farther from the equator where UVR levels are lower, natural selection favoured lighter skin, which allowed enough vitamin D-forming UVR to penetrate their skin."

How can we account for physical variation?

How can we account for physical variation?

• Body Stature• Allen’s rule: biological rule. Colder climates

= shorter limbs/appendages. For instance Maasi of Kenya and N.Tanzania have lean, long bodies to get rid of body heat. Inuit of the Artic Circle have squat body shapes to retain body heat. Shape is the main factor.

• Bergmann’s rule: ecogeographic rule. Correlates latitude with body mass. Body mass increases with latitude/colder climate. Body size increases towards equator.

What is race?

• “How far would it be correct to see ‘race’ as a cultural construction”?

• Read the AAA’s statement on race and answer the questions provided.