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How did anthropology change the study of human differences during the 20th century?
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Race
Skin color is one of the variables that has been used to classify people into different racial categories.
During the 20th century, anthropology fundamentally transformed the study of human differences by challenging the prevailing "typological" view of race. Led by scholars such as Franz Boas, the discipline shifted away from the 19th-century belief that physical traits determined cultural or intellectual capacity.123
Key changes in the study of human differences included:
- Separation of Biology and Culture: Anthropologists advocated for distinguishing biological traits from learned behaviors like language and culture. They argued that cultural differences are the result of historical and environmental circumstances rather than physiological destiny.12
- Rejection of Typology: Research demonstrated that morphological characteristics are malleable and vary within populations, contradicting the idea that humanity could be neatly divided into fixed racial types.13
- Genetic Analysis: By the mid-20th century, attempts to define race through genetic markers—such as blood groups—failed to find clear correlations with conventional racial categories. Scientists eventually recognized that internal variations within populations are greater than those between them, and that physical features are inherited independently of one another.1
Ultimately, anthropology moved toward viewing race as a cultural construct rather than a biological reality.2