UCSB Science Line
Sponge Spicules Nerve Cells Galaxy Abalone Shell Nickel Succinate X-ray Lens Lupine
UCSB Science Line
Home
How it Works
Ask a Question
Search Topics
Webcasts
Our Scientists
Science Links
Contact Information

Much of science fascinates me and I find that the more I learn, the better I understand the world around us. One of my main interests was herpetology and having observed different lizards in the wild as well as consulting various knowledgeable people in the field it has in fact brought me to ask a few questions about humans and why we do what we do. I am currently studying psychology. With slight variations within a species having created a sub-species it begged the question about humans and namely racial variations. On researching it on the internet it brought me to your website and namely this one:

click here

Does this imply that there are indeed sub-species of Homo sapiens? If so; what are they? Are there any scholarly articles about this subject?

If you could point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

Kind regards,
Question Date: 2014-03-04
Answer 1:

There are no sub-species of humans. Sub-species require geographic isolation. People travel so much that it is not a useful concept. While people commonly refer to races, this is a non-technical description used for convenience to talk about culture. There is more variation between individuals of a "race" than between "races."

You may find it useful to discuss this with anthropologists and biologists on your campus to see whether the disciplines have different perspectives on the issue.



Click Here to return to the search form.

University of California, Santa Barbara Materials Research Laboratory National Science Foundation
This program is co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation and UCSB School-University Partnerships
Copyright © 2020 The Regents of the University of California,
All Rights Reserved.
UCSB Terms of Use