Re: "Races" found in genes again

"Jason P" <jaspetr@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1135159802.940028.273180@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Energumen wrote:
>> I discussed a study a while back whereby a team of geneticists grouped
>> DNA
>> samples into five clusters;
>>
>> Africa
>> Eurasia (Europe, Middle East, and Central/South Asia)
>> East Asia
>> Oceania
>> the Americas
>>
>> Corresponding with traditional anthropological concepts of "race".
>>

>And consistant with the known "history" of these regional areas.

Yes as I've stated before the whole "big three" race phenomenon was caused
by neolithic population expansions due to the invention of farming hitting
large barriers of terrain unsuitable for agriculture - Sahara, Himalayas,
oceans etc. This actually produces a more discrete clustering than is
typical for subspecies in other animals. If Homo sapiens was treated
honestly as with other animals it would have subspecies thus;
Homo sapiens caucasoid
Homo sapiens mongoloid
Homo sapiens congoid
Homo sapiens australoid
Homo sapiens capoid

but it would not be justified, if being consistent with the classification
of other animals, to subdivide these into further subspecies eg. separating
"whites" from "arabs", both because the variation is small and because of
it's clinal nature. Probable exceptions would be bambutids (african pygmies)
and australoid negritos and possibly amerinds that may have their own
subspecies status. Admixtures are also often given their own subspecies
classifications, so Aethiopids and Saami might get their own subspecies too.
There are some wolf subspecies that are like that.

For comparisons of human variation with that in other species and their
classification see,
http://www.goodrumj.com/RFaqHTML.html

The general "family tree" goes,

Capoids
| \
| \
Australoids Congoids
| \
| \
Caucasoids Mongoloids
\
\
Amerind(o)ids

It could be a fair bit more messy though, involving branches now extinct
etc.

Caucasoids and Mongoloids are much more closely related to each other than
either is to Congoids. Congoids and Australoids are quite distinct. These
facts aren't entirely superficially obvious.
You can see definite capoid like feautures in these Filipino negritos,
http://sites.uws.edu.au/social/psaa/negrito.gif
(note the blonde hair)

There are other traits shared by capoids and australoids such as
steatopygia.

Skull - Caucasoid,
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/human-caucasian-european-skull.html
Skull - Mongoloid,
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/human-asian-mongoloid-skull.html
Skull - Congoid,
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/human-african-negroid-skull.html
Skull - Australoid,
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/human-australian-aborigine-skull.html


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