There Is No Race, Only Cline

Anthropologists have recently come to realize there really is no such thing as Race. Being racist is no longer possible. This probably means the Ku Klux Klan will become “clinist”. You’re probably wondering what “cline” means in the first place. The Merriam-Webster definition is: a gradient of morphological or physiological change in a group of related organisms usually along a line of environmental or geographic transition. A better understanding of anthropological clines can only be explained they way it was to me, originally. Clines offer a more decisive understanding of human evolution and natural selection. Clines better explain the occurrence of such common things as Sickle Cell Anemia, lactose intolerance, and the wide range of skin tones. Okay, let’s begin.

If you look at a globe (a 3-D globe that you can touch is preferable) that is divided using lines of latitude and longitude, you can better understand what I’m about to explain. We will start at the equator and work our way to the poles. What continents are closest to the equator? South America, Africa, and parts of Asia. These continents are also the hottest parts of the world. They get more sun exposure than any other continents. Our first topic was Sickle Cell Anemia. Over time the human body has been shown to adapt to weaknesses, favoring gene differentiation that protects the body from illness or harm of any kind. This favoring is better known as natural selection. In Africa there is a disease that is very prevalent and destructive to the human population in the area: Malaria. Yet, for some reason Africans are immune to Malaria. Why? Malaria is a virus that infects healthy blood cells, multiplies itself consequently killing the cell, burst forth from the cell, and the newly created malaria viruses travel to and infect adjacent blood cells. Sickle Cell Anemia is a genetic disease that weakens normally healthy blood cells, causing them to collapse into sickle shaped half moons and turn an oxygen-less blue color. These cells are ineffectual because they do not provide oxygen to the body. When Malaria infects a sickled blood cell, it cannot survive because it feeds off the cell. Therefore, even though Sickle Cell Anemia is not a great disease to have, this particular disease makes anyone who has it, immune to Malaria. Over time, the human body favored the gene with SCA, in order to protect the body from Malaria.

The second topic was lactose intolerance. Anthropologists have explained this using clines by saying that prehistoric (that’s when all of this began to evolve) peoples who raised cattle (therefore had access to dairy products), evolved to become lactose tolerant. Anthropologists are saying that originally we were all lactose intolerant, but when prehistoric peoples began to settle into communities and began working the land, they adapted to eating and drinking dairy products, therefore becoming lactose tolerant. This applies mainly to people in the European area and in areas where cattle (and other milk producing animals such as goats and/ or llamas) subsistence is high, such as Patagonia, Europe, and various select parts of Asia. Anyone with ancestors from these areas is most likely to be lactose tolerant. Anyone from a different, non-cattle-raising, area will most likely be lactose intolerant.

The third, and last, topic was the varied skin tones. This is quite easy to understand. For prehistoric humans to remain healthy their bodies had to produce Vitamin D. This can only be created naturally by the absorption of sunlight by the skin cells. Here’s how it works. The skin is hit by sunlight. The skin cells work to produce Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps strengthen nerve connections and increases bone density, making our bones stronger. Without it, we would be similar to old people who are frail (break their hips a lot) and who suffer from Dementia. Now, if you’re living in say, Morocco, you would be getting A LOT of sunlight exposure. This means you would have an over-production of Vitamin D, which is also not healthy for the body. The saying “the more the better” does not apply here, as with most vitamins. Way back during prehistoric times, the human body adapted to this over-exposure by darkening the skin. This darkening was caused by an increase of melanin. Melanin blocks out sunlight. Therefore the more melanin you have, the less sunlight you affected by. That’s why “black” people have to take Vitamin D supplements if they live in latitudes closer to the poles. The polar latitudes experience less sunlight, and this darkness of weather combined with the darkness of skin causes a lack in production of Vitamin D. Not good. In reverse, people living in latitudes closer to the poles have lighter skin tones because the weather is darker. Their bodies have less melanin so that more sunlight can be absorbed. Now, if someone from say, Norway were to move to a place close to the equator, they would have to constantly keep sun-block on or just stay in doors, because their bodies would over-produce Vitamin D due to the increase in sunlight exposure. You can even see an adaptation in just one summer, of the human body towards sunlight and Vitamin D. Even gotten a good tan? That golden one that just makes you glow? That’s your body saying its producing too much Vitamin D and therefore it increases the amount of melanin in your skin, to help block some of the sunlight you’re absorbing. Some people’s bodies can’t produce the melanin necessary, that’s why they are advised to stay indoors a lot. When they do spend a fair amount of time in the sun, they don’t tan, they burn. The body can usually protect itself from sunburn by an increase in melanin, but if you can’t produce melanin, you burn. See? Melanin helps two ways. It protects from over-production of Vitamin D, and protects the body from sunburn.

Isn’t it amazing how the body works to protect you, and you didn’t even notice it? It does all that work to keep you safe, and all of us are so unappreciative that we fill it with toxins and fatty foods that “taste good”. I know; I do it too. I love fried chicken, and sweet tea, and all of my Southern cuisine that is known for NOT being healthy. However, I’m eating more rabbit food…though I’ve always believed that as long as you use moderation, that you can live a healthy, tasty life.

~Guardian~