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Human Variation
ANTH 204
April 18, 2012
Human biological variation
Causes:
Genes
Environment
Within Groups
Between Groups
Biology and Culture in the
Concept of Race
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Variation: Genes + Env.
Differing Sources of Variation
Genes: most genes are polytypic, most traits are polygenic;
contributions from both parents
Environment: nutrition, disease, social and emotional life,
exposure to natural light
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Genes + Environment?
Single-gene traits
Specific language impairment (SLI); FOXP2
Other diseases weve studied?
Polygenic traits are much more complex
Twin studies
Mono = di importance of (family) environment
Mono ! di importance of genes
Genes + Environment?
8ao xlshun: 79
acromegaly
Pe lngplng: 24
heredlLary collagen declency
lor Lhe resL of us, lLs a blL of boLh.
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Genetic variation within groups
Introduced by mutation
Maintained by:
Sexual reproduction
Disequilibrium
Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes (NIDD)
Heterozygote advantage
What allele (or disease) do we know that confers this
advantage?
Genetic variation between groups
Genetic drift; founders effect
Adaptation to variable environments and conditions
Malaria ! sickle cell trait
Lactose digestion
deserts of N. Africa/Middle East
N. Europe
New evidence: E. Africa
independent adaptation of FOUR genes as recently as 3000 years ago
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Human Variation
and the Concept of Race
What can variation tell us
about human biology and our
evolutionary history?
How does culture influence
our notion of biological
variation?
WhaL do we mean by race?
8eleLhford noLes LhaL !"#$ has been used Lo refer Lo
.skln color (Lhe whlLe" race)
.nauonallLy (Lhe !apanese" race)
.rellglon (Lhe !ewlsh" race)

%& $($!)*") +$!,-. +/$!$ 0- "& 1&23!+1&"+$ +$&*$&#) +3 1-$
4!"#$5 +3 !$2$! +3 $($!)+/0&6 2!3, " 7038360#"8 1&0+. +3 "&
$+/&0# 6!319. +3 3&$5- &":3&"80+)."


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Linnaeus (1735)
[Native] American
European
Asiatic
Black
US Census 1870
White
Black
Mulatto
Chinese
Indian
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US Census 1950
White
Negro
American Indian
Chinese
Japanese
Filipino
Other race
US Census 2000
White
Black, African-American, Negro
American Indian, Alaska Native
Asian Indian
Chinese
Filipino
Japanese
Korean
Vietnamese
Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Island
Other Asian
Some other race
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Coon, Garn, Birdsell 1950
Murraylan
Aniu
Alpine
NW European
NE European
Lapp
Forest Negro
Melanesian
Negrito
Bushman
Bantu
Sudanese
Carpentarian
Dravidian
Hamite
Hindu
Mediterranean
Nordic
N American
Colored
S African
Colored
Classic
Mongoloid
Turkic
Amer Indian
Marginal
Amer Indian
Central
Landino
Polynesian
Neo-
Hawaiian
Implications
Race = a population that differs from other
populations in the frequency of morphological
features and/or genetic traits.


BUT if this is true,

Every population is a race; every trait is racial
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Problem of biological races
1. Races are historically defined by relatively few superficial traits
What traits should we use?
2. Different traits give different classifications, non-concordance
Every population is a race
Every trait is racial
3. No sharp boundaries between peoples
4. Genetic variation paints a very
different picture!
Variation between groups is low
Intragroup variation is highest
in Africa.
This is consistent with
evidence for a recent (~50kya)
African origin for all humans.
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Variation within groups is high
85% of human variation within population differences
15% of human variation between population differences
African
Asian
European
Race, the power of an illusion
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Gene Flow
Q: Have human populations been isolated since our most
recent common ancestor?


Remember:
What impact does
gene flow have
on speciation?

Gene Flow
Q: Have human populations been isolated since our most
recent common ancestor?
A: Not likely!

Current diversity
could be maintained
by gene flow of just
1.35 individuals
every 20 years
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Examples of clinal variation in
modern human populations
Sickle-cell genes
Vary with incidence of
malaria
Examples of clinal variation in
modern human populations
Skin color
Adaptation for dealing
with UV radiation:
too little, not enough
Vit. D
too much depletes
folate
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Geographic history
Geographic history (or ancestry) is a much better way of
understanding human biological variation: local adaptation +
migration
Where did race come from?
United States of America founded on principles of equality and
freedom
but only for certain people
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All men are created equal?
Race
A recent idea created by western Europeans following exploration
across the world to account for differences among people and justify
colonization, conquest, enslavement, and social hierarchy among
humans.
The term is used to refer to groupings of people according to
common origin or background and associated with perceived
biological markers.
understandingrace.org
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Race
Race is not a biologically meaningful way to classify human
variation

however, race as a social and cultural concept has had very real
impacts on our biology.

Next up!
Acclimation, acclimatization, and phenotypic plasticity

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