WHAT IS A “RACE”?
A human “race” is defined most often as a group of people with certain features in common that distinguish them from other groups of people. Currently there are three or four major “races” of humans, as the word race is commonly defined: (a) Australoid; (b) Caucasoid; (c) Mongoloid; and (d) Negroid. Generally speaking, the Australoids are considered a subgroup of the Caucasoids, simply because the two groups have so many features in common, despite the fact that Australoids possess dark skin (the Australoid group is often known as the Australian Aboriginal Group). If a breakdown by percentages of the world’s population were attempted, the groups would look like this: Caucasoid, 55%; Mongoloid, 33%; Negroid, 8%; Australoid, 4%. It is interesting to note that these races are distributed around the globe throughout over 100 nations, and speak 3,000+ tribal languages and dialects.
Speaking in broad terms, research on racial differences has led scientists to at least three major conclusions. First, there are many more differences among people than just hair texture, skin color, and facial features. Dozens of other variations have been found to exist. The following examples are taken from McCutcheon (1989, pp. 25-35).
Apocrine glands, which produce scents that we commonly refer to as body odor, vary widely among the races. Asians have an extremely low distribution of apocrines (Koreans are among the least odor-producing people on Earth—50% of them have no apocrine glands at all). With regard to other races, blacks have a slightly higher distribution of apocrine glands than whites.
Ear wax among races is quite different. One of the most accurate ways to distinguish Asians from blacks and whites is to check for differences in ear wax. Asians produce dry, crumbly ear wax. Blacks and whites produce moist, adhesive ear wax.
Metabolic rates can differ significantly among races. The higher the metabolic rate, the higher the threshold for sensing cold. The Eskimo’s metabolic rate is 15-30% higher than that of a European. Equatorial people have the lowest metabolism of all because fewer calories are needed to keep their bodies warm.
There are many other differences that could be discussed—teeth, brain size, body shape, etc.
Second, research has shown that in many instances the success of a population’s survival has been aided by its genetic variability. While evolutionists equate this with chance processes operating in the sphere of “survival of the fittest,” creationists see it as just one more example of God’s beneficent design. He has given us such variability, genetically speaking, so that we can successfully adapt as the need arises. More will be said about this later.
Third, despite the human species’ wealth of built-in variation, and despite our constant references to “race,” no one ever has been able to suggest a truly reliable way to distinguish one race from another. While it is possible to classify a great many people on the basis of certain physical characteristics, there are no known features, of groups of features, that will do the job in all cases.
It has been suggested that skin color might be the criterion for race determination. Yet, this provides innumerable difficulties because while most Africans from south of the Sahara and their descendants around the world have skin that is darker than that of most Europeans, there are millions of people in India, classified by many anthropologists as members of the Caucasoid race, who have darker skins than most American blacks. Some Africans, living in the sub-Saharan regions, have skin coloration that is no darker than that of some Spaniards, Italians, Greeks, or Lebanese.
