Skin Color Is Not Race, Essay Example

Anthropology is a field with rich complexity and focus that requires a number of subfields that emphasize critical areas of study. Some of the most common subfields include biological anthropology, linguistic anthropology, cultural anthropology, and social anthropology (Park, 2006). These subsets provide further evidence of the different challenges and considerations of anthropology and its reflection on individuals, systems, and human existence throughout history and into the present. These subsets also recognize that there are many areas that require a detailed focus so that human beings and society are better understood across generations.

Each of these subsets is critical to the anthropology field as a whole because they contribute to the understanding of human beings as a myriad of complex systems and influences. This recognition also contributes to the overall development of new perspectives to facilitate individual understanding of the evolution of the human condition. Finally, these areas represent a means of creating new opportunities to model cultures and systems based on historical representations. It is likely that the development of new approaches to anthropology fall under one or more of these categories, as new discoveries are made on a continuous basis and represent a means of supporting unique approaches to answering anthropological questions as they arise.

Descent with modification is represented in different ways and provides a basis for key evolutionary principles that govern the human condition and how it has changed throughout history, as presented by Charles Darwin (Penny, 2011). This concept supports the relationships between different factors and how they have evolved over time into human beings through the evolutionary process (Penny, 2011). At the same time, the concepts of anthropology represent an opportunity to explore the different dimensions of the human condition through creative means that support the discovery of characteristics that have influenced human beings in the modern era (Penny, 2011).

Evolutionary genetics is critical to the process of descent with modification, as human beings have changed over time due to the surrounding environment and other factors that have contributed to their evolutionary status. Therefore, it is not surprising that as the environment has changed dramatically, human beings have also changed, including their cultures, biological frameworks, systems, and other factors that contribute to their current status in the 21^st Century. These factors may be largely attributed to descent with modification, as they represent a means of exploring how human evolution has created an entirely new approach to the advancement of this species into what it is today.

The human primate is a typical primate in that DNA is common in humans as well as monkeys and chimpanzees, and these species are very different from many other mammals (Wayman, 2012). Furthermore, human beings, like other primates, possess excellent vision, have big toes, opposable thumbs, nails, finger pads, and five fingers and/or toes on each appendage (Wayman, 2012). In addition, primates have highly developed brains and significant intelligence, with a capacity to learn difficult concepts and to be trained to repeat them as part of their learned behavior (Wayman, 2012). Each of these factors is present in all types of primates and enables them to be the most sophisticated of all mammals (Wayman, 2012).

On the other hand, human primates are highly unique in that they possess a highly sophisticated set of communication skills and capabilities that enable them to learn languages and to share information with others. These communication skills serve as the cornerstone of their intelligence. Furthermore, these individuals possess the ability to reason and to make decisions at a sophisticated level, which is not the case with other primates. Therefore, human beings are able to reason and to make decisions knowing that they are either right or wrong and that they will have an impact on their lives and on other people.

Variation in skin color is a unique characteristic of all human beings; however, in spite assumptions to the contrary, this does not dictate the identification of race. However, all races are of mixed ancestry and represent the ideas and physical attributes of many different cultures; therefore, the color of one’s skin does not equate a specific race (Khan, 2009). For example, Latinos are a mix of many races and therefore, have changed the manner in which race is evaluated throughout the world (Khan, 2009). In this context, it is observed that there are many different perspectives to consider and that race is not only black or white, as many other factors must be taken into consideration (Khan, 2009). Skin color, as a result, is not the sole defining characteristic of race in the modern world, as other factors must also be considered that impact a human being’s race (Khan, 2009).

Skin color is a unique characteristic that all human beings possess, and the variations are highly significant; however, other factors must also be considered that will have an impact on understanding one’s race and how it impacts his or her classification. This process is highly specific and many other factors must be taken into consideration that have an impact on how one’s race is perceived in today’s world. The continued combination of different cultures and ethnicities further shifts the paradigm regarding race and how skin color is perceived, accompanied by other characteristics that play a role in defining race. Therefore, it is likely that as these combinations continue to evolve, other factors must play a role in determining race that go beyond mere skin color, as many other characteristics further complicate this analysis in many different ways.

References

Khan, R. (2009). Skin color is not race. Discover, retrieved from http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2009/05/skin-color-is-not-race/#.U2UWT1cVG0I

Park, M.A. (2006). Introducing Anthroplogy – An Integrated Appraoch, 4^th Edition. McGraw-Hill.

Penny, D. (2011). Darwin’s Theory of Descent with Modification, versus the Biblical Tree of Life. Retrieved from http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pbio.1001096

Wayman, E. (2012). Why are humans primates? Retrieved from http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-are-humans-primates-97419056/?no-ist