Anthropology: Variation in Skin Color

This term refers to the assignment of individuals belonging to mixed race or ethnic groups to subordinate groups. This ideology usually exists in a society where certain groups are considered to be dominant or superior to the others. According to the view of F. James Davis in "Defining Race: Comparative perspectives", hypodescent status refers to the social position of the mix breeds of white and black.

I have always found human evolution very fascinating. I think it is incredible how we have evolved from caveman to complex modern-day humans. The fact that such an enormous change did not occur overnight, but through a slow process that took place over hundreds of thousands of years, gives me the urge to continue researching. I am curious about how we have evolved dramatically in terms of appearance, characteristics, lifestyle, and many other aspects. Not only are these adaptations interesting, they are also essential to our entire existence. Without evolution, humans would’ve died out due to the various diseases we are exposed to daily. Evolution is a constant undergoing process as our surroundings continue to change. We must adapt to these changes in order to successfully survive. I want to

The social construction of race is a topic that is worth discussing. In the United States the black/white color line has historically been rigidly defined and enforced. People have been stereotypical and afraid as long as I can remember. Labeling people as we think they should be based on the color of their skin or just thinking it’s in their biology so they must be this or they must be that. Race is socially constructed and is not a biological construct.

Protecting communities is another biologic adaptation that emerged from chimpanzees. As humans began to evolve, their ability to fight grew through natural selection. As time went on, human evolution favored traits of cooperation over physical attributes. This emphasis on teamwork lead to a species keen on teamwork and strong desire to protect each other, while growing hostile towards outsiders. This can be seen in the early struggles between Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens, and continues to be evident throughout early human

This section gave detailed explanation of how humans have changed from primates and how we are able to survive. DNA is what affects what our bodies can handle compared to what our primates could handle. Mankind is twice split off from apes and the mutation of the human apoE gene is what helps us be able to eat meat. A second mutation appeared 220000 years ago which helped humans be able to break down fats and cholesterol. DNA and the mutation of our genes is what helped us survive. This section also talks about extinction, and how Jean Leopold Nicolas Frederic Cuvier,one of the greatest naturalists believed in it, despite many people not believing in the impermanence of a species. William Buckland, a biblical geologist who

The description of Africa as the dark mysterious continent is a description that can also be applied to her continental sisters sharing similar latitudes in the Western Hemisphere, the areas now known as Latin America. These continents, as well as large parts of vast Asia, seem to be areas of the earth where many dark complected peoples reside. Ironically these areas of “mystery and darkness” receive the most light from our sun, causing the evolution of a protective coloring in the outer covering of the human body. Without

An example of an area would be in the European areas, where the UV radiation doesn’t beam down as strong onto our skin. If it was another hot open area such as Australia then the skin pigmentation stayed darker. In short, the skin pigmentation adapted to the lifestyle and the surround environment to better help survive in that climate. This is due to the body producing more melanin so the effects of the sun’s rays can be counteracted. Through generations successful genes are passed through the blood line, the human body also has a tendency to produce a particular amount of melanin depending on the location of where one

Source: Figure obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Graph retrieved 18 October 2009 from http://www.cpc. ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/uv_index/gif_files/uvi_world_f1.gif. This U.S. Government material is not subject to copyright protection within the United States.

Imagine you are a person of color in the early to mid 1900’s. You the mother of three young children. Despite your best intentions, your children are forced to grow up in poverty. When you direct them out of the house to go to school, they see the all the white boys and girls walking toward one school and all of the black boys and girls walking to another. Imagine being asked by your children why they don’t go to school with the other boys and girls and not being able to tell them that its because of the aspect of racism during the era. After you drop them off to school, you go to work so that you can provide for your family. You work long hours with unfair wages and

The English term ‘race’ is believed to originate from the Spanish word raza, which means ‘breed’ or ‘stock’ (Race). People use race to define other groups, this separation of groups is based largely on physical features. Features like skin color and hair don’t affect the fundamental biology of human variation (Hotz). Race is truly only skin deep, there are no true biological separations between two ‘racial’ groups. Scientifically speaking, there is more variation between single local groups than there is between two large, global groups; the human variation is constantly altering (Lewontin). The majority of today’s anthropologists agree that race is a form of social categorization, not the separation of groups based on biological

This is not too provocative but relevant to this weeks discussion. My husband and I were talking about the lighter skin colors in Neanderthals because of the genome sequencing the scientists have done on DNA from finds. He asked why they would have lighter color skin when they were not even human. I told him

Examining the ideas and beliefs within ones own cultural context is central to the study of Anthropology. Issues of Race and Ethnicity dominate the academic discourses of various disciplines including the field of Anthropology. Race and Ethnicity are controversial terms that are defined and used by people in many different ways. This essay shall explore the ways in which Anthropologists make a distinction between race and ethnicity and how these distinctions serve as frames for cross-cultural comparison and analysis. It is important to accurately define these coined terms before one is able to make accurate comparisons and distinctions between them, and their relation to the concept of

Melanin has played a significant role in human evolution. In this paper I will discuss the importance of melanin in its role in the human biological system and how it relates to the natural selection of suitable human life according to geography and environment.

We often connect ourselves to the world through our appearances. One of the first characteristics we notice about another human is the color of their skin. It is unavoidable, as the largest organ of the body, it covers and highlights our individual features and forms a protective wall against the elements. There is no escape from the social repercussions our pigmentation causes no matter what range of the very broad spectrum of color we fall into. I have never thought so much about the genetic and social evolution of skin and its properties until I read Nina Jablonski’s Living Color: The Biological and Social Meaning of Skin Color. This book encompasses, in great detail, how our skin has evolved, adapted and mutated throughout time and in what

Evolution is not a flawless process, nor will it ever be. An example of this is evolutionary adaptations regarding the color of one’s skin. A major factor that affects the color of one’s skin is how much sunlight that person receives in their environment. Sunlight is necessary for the body to be able to turn cholesterol into Vitamin D; however, the absorption of sunlight destroys the folic acid in our bodies. Consequently, the color of one’s skin essentially makes a compromise by either favoring production of Vitamin D, or retaining the amount of folic acid in the body. Both Vitamin D and folic acid are necessary for survival, so giving up one or the other can have negative effects; therefore, making it a compromise. The pigmentation of one’s