Teaching
Biological Anthropology
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Unit 4
Human Genetic Variation
Scientific explanations for and appreciations of human genetic variation often remain at odds with social views on human diversity. In this unit, students will learn how biological anthropologists address genetic variation. They also can consider anthropologists’ ongoing struggle to address the discipline’s historical role in perpetuating scientific racism.
Sapiens articles
Race Is Real, But It’s Not Genetic
For over 300 years, socially defined notions of “race” have shaped human lives around the globe—but the category has no biological foundation.
Schizophrenia’s Tangled Roots
As an increasingly complex picture of schizophrenia emerges, researchers are recognizing that a more individualized and humane approach is needed to better understand and treat the condition.
Keywords
View All in Biology
![A black squirrel sits atop a trash can in a busy urban setting, with a crowd of people out-of-focus in the background.]()
![A stream of clear water pours into an orange bucket. Behind it, two slightly out-of-focus women and a child look on.]()
![A bearded man in a vest and red scarf holds up his two hands in loose blue gloves, with a small tooth in each hand.]()
![A person wearing a black robe crouches beside a white building to tend to a bed of pea plants.]()
![A historic black-and-white photograph shows a small group of workers on the floor of a pin manufacturing plant tending to rows of machines.]()
![A tawny, black-spotted lynx wearing a radio collar sprints across a rocky, beige landscape studded with tufts of green grass.]()
Are People Projecting Racist Stereotypes Onto Squirrels?
Researchers refute a popular idea that black-furred squirrels behave more aggressively than gray ones—and suggest the myth stems from some people’s racist attitudes.
How Water Insecurity Impacts Women’s Health
Anthropologists and local activists in Indonesia and Peru uncover links between water scarcity and gendered violence, and work together to lessen the harms of gender inequality.
Unraveling a “Ghost” Neanderthal Lineage
Remains in France found by archaeologists and geneticists suggest at least two lineages—not just one—of late Neanderthals in Europe.
People Are Not Peas—Why Genetics Education Needs an Overhaul
The decades out-of-date genetics taught in most U.S. schools stokes misconceptions about race and human diversity. A biological anthropologist calls for change.
How Allocating Work Aided Our Evolutionary Success
Societies divide labor by gender and age. A biological anthropologist considers when and why this behavior arose.
Bringing Back the World’s Most Endangered Cat
A social scientist goes behind the scenes at a breeding center in Portugal to explore the challenges and ethical dilemmas of reintroducing the Iberian lynx.
View All in Food
![The ruins of a gray stone building stand below a cerulean sky with fluffy white clouds.]()
![An image shows a tan llama’s head and torso against a beige, sandy ground.]()
![An aerial photograph features a landscape of circular bodies of water connected by thin land bridges covered with trees. A mountain range spans the background.]()
![A photograph features a large body of water with a cityscape visible in the distance. On the left side, a person stands on a wooden pier near a white sign that reads: “PLEASE KEEP YOUR PIER CLEAN. USE TRASH CANS.”]()
![A photograph features a person wearing a collared shirt and apron in a large kitchen pouring coffee from a kettle into one of several white mugs on a wooden counter.]()
![A photograph features a person wearing torn beige clothing kneeling in the front of a cave over a stone, rubbing wooden sticks together atop the latter to create sparks. Another brown-haired person in beige clothing is barely visible in the background on the right side of the image.]()
How Colonialism Invented Food Insecurity in West Africa
Archaeological evidence and Oral Histories show people in what is today Ghana lived sustainably for millennia—until European colonial powers and the widespread trade of enslaved people changed everything.
Unearthing Culinary Pasts—With Help From Llama Poop
A food archaeologist investigates everyday eating and lean times among the ancient Moche of Peru through a remarkable discovery of thousands of llama “beans.”
Why These Hong Kong Urbanites Are Farming
An anthropologist takes readers inside a Hong Kong ecovillage, revealing a small but thriving movement built around food, sustainability, and community.
Planting Seeds for a More Ethical Future
Three contributors to a special series reflect on why slowing down and building trust between community partners is fundamental to decolonizing anthropology—and our shared future.
When Coffee Is Like Angel Cake With Strawberry Jam
An anthropologist delves into the rarefied ritualistic world of specialty coffee, where highly trained brewers and judges compete to determine which beans reign supreme.
The Paleolithic Age Cooked Up Creative Chefs
An archaeologist explains how new evidence stands to change what we thought about how ice age humans prepared food.
View All in Race
![A gray-haired woman sits on an exam table in a light-filled doctor’s office and looks out a window.]()
![A black squirrel sits atop a trash can in a busy urban setting, with a crowd of people out-of-focus in the background.]()
![Two pairs of scissors, two rocks, and two slips of paper rest on a pale-yellow surface.]()
![A man with long, dark hair tied in a braid holds up a small child to a mirror, which reflects the child’s pensive face.]()
![A stylized painting of a person’s head—with wide eyes, red lips, and a headscarf—is covered in various numbers and symbols, and set against a black background.]()
![A silhouetted woman sits in a chair in the center of a dark room looking directly at the camera. Close-up images of another woman are projected onto screens on the three walls surrounding her.]()
Doctors Are Taught to Lie About Race
Decades ago, anthropologists dispelled the myth of biological race. Lagging behind in scientific understandings of human diversity, the medical profession is failing its oath to “do no harm.”
Are People Projecting Racist Stereotypes Onto Squirrels?
Researchers refute a popular idea that black-furred squirrels behave more aggressively than gray ones—and suggest the myth stems from some people’s racist attitudes.
Playing Rock, Paper, Scissors Across the Red-Blue Divide
As toxic polarization deepens in the U.S., some global conflict prevention experts are now addressing political violence at home. An anthropologist shares three key insights from a community action program in Wisconsin.
Finding Our Way Forward—by Remembering
In a personal essay, a mixed-race and Native anthropologist draws strength from his ancestors.
Grappling With Guilt Inside a System of Structural Violence
Criminals and Gangmembers Anonymous, a 12-step recovery program, has proliferated in California’s carceral system. An anthropologist investigates the program, which sees criminality as a chronic addiction that can be treated through intervention.
Spotlighting Black Women’s Mental Health Struggles
An anthropologist discusses her film that honors and grieves the loss of Kime, a friend who passed away after experiencing physical and state violence.
View All in Science
![An ape-like mannequin, with protruding facial features and a body covered in fur, stands in a museum exhibition under dramatic lighting. Next to it, a text panel starts, “The human story begins.”]()
![A dark shelf leaning against a wall covered in gold-tinted wallpaper displays the personal items of a missing loved one, including a portrait of the person dressed in a black suit and tie, a photograph, a red plastic hard hat, and books.]()
![A stone figure with the body of a seated lion and the head of a person wearing a headdress sits in the foreground with a large stone pyramid towering in the distance.]()
![Against a black background, two faces in profile look in opposite directions. The one on the left has straight brown hair with pale skin, and the one on the right has slightly darker skin and disheveled orange hair.]()
![In a dark and rainy forest, a large Tyrannosaurus rex stares into a green car with its headlights on. The car has a yellow and black graphic on its hood with text that reads, “Jurassic Park.”]()
![On a paved city street fenced off and lined with people, three people wearing colorful clothing stand and hold signs. These read: “Monogamy is not for everyone,” “I love my girlfriend’s boyfriend,” and “Sharing is Caring.”]()
Lessons From Lucy
Fifty years ago, the remains of an Australopithecus afarensis ancestor, named “Lucy” by archaeologists, rewrote the story of human evolution.
For Families of Missing Loved Ones, Forensic Investigations Don’t Always Bring Closure
An anthropologist working in Azerbaijan looks beyond forensic science to understand the value of culturally specific ways people navigate uncertainty in protracted conflict zones.
Why I Talked to Pseudoarchaeologist Graham Hancock on Joe Rogan
An archaeologist explains his motivations and strategies for appearing on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast with a purveyor of misinformation about the ancient past.
Excavating the Coexistence of Neanderthals and Modern Humans
An archaeologist explains how remains recently recovered from a cave in present-day Germany suggest that Neanderthals and modern humans populated Europe together for at least 10,000 years.
Celebrity Status Almost Ruined Ancient DNA Research
An evolutionary anthropologist draws lessons from paleogenetic’s journey from Jurassic Park fiction to Nobel Prize reality.
What Is “Natural” for Human Sexual Relationships?
A biological and anthropological researcher explains how humans' diverse ways of mating might have evolved.
Professor Talking Points
- Genes are proteins that make up our DNA and are responsible for many of the traits that we possess: for example, aspects of our physical appearance such as skin, eye, and hair color; physiological traits such as tolerance of lactose, sickle cell anemia, and color blindness; and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
- Biological anthropologists study human genetic variation from an evolutionary standpoint.
- They study the many traits that modern humans have as a result of genetic mutations and in response to environmental and social change.
- The discipline of anthropology often played a central role in creating, sustaining, and spreading scientific racism in the 19th and 20th centuries.
- Scientific racism relies on pseudoscientific measures (initially, measurements of skulls and other body parts) to propagate the concept of the existence of distinct races and promote ideologies about the genetic and/or biological superiority and inferiority of socially constructed groups.
Academic Articles
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Auton, Adam, Gonçalo R. Abecasis, David M. Altshuler, et al. “A Global Reference for Human Genetic Variation.” Nature 526: 68–74.
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Marks, Jonathan. 2012. “The Origins of Anthropological Genetics.” Current Anthropology 53 (S5): S161–S172.
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Reardon, Jenny, and Kim TallBear. 2012. “’Your DNA Is Our History’: Genomics, Anthropology, and the Construction of Whiteness as Property.” Current Anthropology 53 (S5): S233–S245.
Student Discussion Questions
- What does the 2017 SAPIENS piece by Michael Balter tell us about studying genetics and culture together?
- How can we prove that race is not genetically real?
- According to Marks (2012), what is the legacy of racism and eugenics in studies of genetics?
- List the merits of the 1000 Genomes Project (Auton, Adam, Gonçalo R. Abecasis, David M. Altshuler, et al. 2015). What does it tell us about shared genetic variations among different populations?
Activities
- Direct students to the 1000 Genomes Project website and have them write a one-page summary of the project’s scientific and ethical merits, potential, and limitations.
- Set up a class debate to explore the concept of “nature versus nurture.”
Additional Resources
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Article: Anthropology Newsletter’s “Origin of the Idea of Race”
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Article: NPR’s “Why You Should Think Twice About Those DNA-By-Mail Results”
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Podcast: Code Switch’s “Is ‘Race Science’ Making A Comeback?”
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Podcast: The University of Alabama’s Speaking of Race
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TED Talk: Spencer Wells’ “A Family Tree for Humanity”
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TED Talk: Nina Jablonski’s “Skin Color Is an Illusion”
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Video: PBS’ “Power of an Illusion: The Difference Between Us”
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Website: The American Anthropological Association’s RACE: Are We So Different?
Unit By
Eshe Lewis (2020)
Teaching
Biological Anthropology
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Unit 5
Human Behavior
