Status Of The Race Concept In Physical Anthropology

The notion of how race is defined has always been controversial. Non -anthropologists and anthropologists have always used the term race, but what they have not done is define how they are using the term. Everyone knows what “race” is but not everyone has the same understanding of what race is. Do we define race biologically or geographically? Do we use genotypes or phenotypes when classifying race? Is the race concept biological or is it socially constructed? All of these questions will have been answered by the end of this paper. In this paper, I will explore how anthropologists in different fields of anthropology view and define race. Most racial studies have been done my biological or physical anthropologists. They study race as a concept; how to define it, how to classify it, …show more content…
There are two concepts to race that biological anthropologists debate about. According to Matt Cartmill’s article “The Status of the Race Concept in Physical Anthropology” there are two cases to the concept of race; the case for the race concept and the case against the race concept. The race concept is what we as anthropologists use to define race. Do we use genetics, physical features, or geography to classify race is the debate in this article. The anthropologists who support the case for the concept of race defend racial taxonomies. They