This discussion centers on the classification of anthropology as a serious science, particularly focusing on its racial and physical aspects. While the genetic, historical, and archaeological components of anthropology are acknowledged as legitimate, the conversation critiques the racial classification methods proposed by Carlton Coon, particularly in his work "The Origin of Races." The discussion highlights the negative reception of Coon's theories by contemporary scientists like Sherwood Washburn and Ashley Montagu, who advocate for a more nuanced understanding of human populations. Ultimately, participants agree that anthropology, as a whole, is a valid scientific discipline.
PREREQUISITESAnthropologists, forensic scientists, sociologists, and anyone interested in the ethical implications of racial classification in scientific research.
the branch of physical anthropology in which anthropological data, criteria, and techniques are used to determine the sex, age, genetic population, or parentage of skeletal or biological materials in questions of civil or criminal law.
Tukhara said:What I am referring to is the racial/physical side of things; do you see it as serious scientific business?
Tukhara said:^It means things like phenotype classification. Such as the act of racial classification types; for instance racial types in listed in Carlton Coon's books.
We're not going there, that's starting from 1939. It's racist and we don't do racist here.Tukhara said:^It means things like phenotype classification. Such as the act of racial classification types; for instance racial types in listed in Carlton Coon's books.
Coon's published magnum opus, The Origin of Races (1962), received mixed reactions from scientists of the era.
Negative[edit]
Sherwood Washburn and Ashley Montagu were heavily influenced by the modern synthesis in biology and population genetics. In addition, they were influenced by Franz Boas, who had moved away from typological racial thinking. Rather than supporting Coon's theories, they and other contemporary researchers viewed the human species as a continuous serial progression of populations and heavily criticised Coon's Origin of Races.
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and changing social attitudes challenged racial theories like Coon's that had been used by segregationists to justify discrimination and depriving people of civil rights.