13.2: Human Variation in Biological Anthropology Today
- Page ID
- 158808
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HUMAN VARIATION IS CLINAL/CONTINUOUS (NOT DISCRETE)
A gradient of physiological or morphological change in a single character or allele frequency among a group of species across environmental or geographical lines (e.g., skin color varies clinally, as, over many generations, human groups living nearer the equator have adapted to have more skin pigmentation).
Variation that exists between individuals and cannot be measured using distinct categories. Instead, differences between individuals within a population in relation to one particular trait are measurable along a smooth, continuous gradient. Also referred to as clinal variation.

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THE APPORTIONMENT OF HUMAN VARIATION: GENETIC DIVERSITY IS GREATER WITHIN-GROUP THAN BETWEEN-GROUPS
Biological Data Fit Isolation-By-Distance and Out-of-Africa Models

A model that predicts a positive relationship between genetic distances and geographical distances between pairs of populations.

Humans Have Higher Homogeneity Compared to Many Other Species

Phenotypic Traits That Reflect Neutral Evolution
The fact of genes or traits not varying with one another and instead being inherited independently.


A system of interconnected canals within the auditory (ear- or hearing-related) apparatus, located in the inner ear and responsible for balance and the reception of sound waves.
Phenotypic Traits That Reflect Natural Selection
A genetic disorder in which one defective gene causes overproduction and buildup of mucus in the lungs and other bodily organs, most common in northern Europeans (but also in other world populations more rarely).

Biogeographical information about an individual, traced either through the study of an individual’s genome, skeletal characteristics, or some other form of forensic/archaeological evidence. Anthropologists carry out probabilistic estimates of ancestry. They attribute sets of human remains to distinctive “ancestral” groups using careful statistical testing and should report ancestry estimations with statistical probability values.
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FIGURE ATTRIBUTES
Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) Dobzhansky no Brasil em 1943 by Unknown photographer is in the public domain.
Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\) Julian Huxley 1-2 by Unknown photographer is in the public domain.
Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\) Skin color by S25454541 is used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 License.
\(\PageIndex{4}\) Map of blood group a by Muntuwandi at en.Wikipedia is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License.
\(\PageIndex{5}\) Map of blood group b by Muntuwandi at en.Wikipedia is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License.
\(\PageIndex{6}\) Map of blood group o Based on diagrams from anthro.palomar.edu/vary/vary_3.htm reproduced from A. E. Mourant et.al., The Distribution of the Human Blood Groups and Other Polymorphisms, 2nd ed. (1976) is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License.
Figure \(\PageIndex{7}\) Sub-Saharan-Africa by Ezeu has been designated to the public domain (CC0).
Figure \(\PageIndex{8}\) Bottleneck effect by Tsaneda is used under a CC BY 3.0 License.
Figure \(\PageIndex{9}\) Chimpanzee IV (13968482163) by Chi King is used under a CC BY 2.0 License.
Figure \(\PageIndex{10}\) Human skulls by 22Kartika is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License.
Figure \(\PageIndex{11}\) Bony labyrinth by Selket (5 February 2007, UTC) has been designated to the public domain (CC0).
Figure \(\PageIndex{12}\) Forensic Anthropology Lab by Pp391 is used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 License.