Forms of Social Differentiation: Racial Differentiation

Forms of Social Differentiation: Racial Differentiation - Race is defined as a number of people who share the same physical features. If we mention a particular race, we thus describe ther physical features instead of their cultural characteristics. According to Ralph Linton, humankind are categorised  into three general racial types, notably Mongoloid, Caucasoid, and Negroid.

Racial Differentiation

1. Mongoloid

Mongoloid shares physical characteristics such as yellow and light brown skin, straight hair, less body, and slanted eyes (particularly Asian Mongoloid). Mongoloid us divided into asiatic Mongoloid The former are including subrace Tionghoa (spreads over Japan, Taiwan, and Vietnam) and subrace Malay which inhibts Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Indian Mongoloid comprises of Indian people in America.

2. Caucasoid

Caucasiod has notable physical features such as high nose, white skin, blond and brunette hair, and straight eye-lids. This race is further classified into five subraces that are Nordic, Alpine, Mediterranean, Armenoid, and Indic.

3. Negroid

Negroid shares physical features as follows: curly hair, black skin, thick lips, and straight eye-lids. Negroid is divided into five subraces notably Negrito, Nilotic, Forest Negro, Oceanic Negro, and Hottentot-Bushman.

A.L. Kroeber introduces classification of humankind of the following:

1. Australoid is a racial type which comprises of Australian indigenous people (Aborigin).Mongoloid which disperses over; Asiatic Mongoloid (North Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia), Malayan Mongoloid (South-East Asia and Taiwanese indigenous people), American Mongoloid (indigenous people in America). 
2. Caucasoid includes: Nordic(North Europe, and Baltic Sea region), Alpine (Central and East Europe), Mediterranean (regions in Middle Sea, North Africa, Armenia, Arab, and Iran), Indic (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka).
3. Negroid consists of: African Negroid (African continent), Negrito (Central Africa, Malay Peninsula which is known as Semang people, and the Philippines), Melanesian (Papua, Melanesia).
4. Specific races (in addition to the four main racial types) are the following: Bushman (Kalahari Desert, South Africa), Veddoid (Sri Lanka's hinterlands and South Sulawesi), Polynesian (Micronesia Islands and Polynesia), Ainu (Karafuto and Hokkaido islands, Japan).

Each and every race is bound to have different characteristics. However, humans's physical differences are few, compared to other being such as animal. Most of scientists nowadays believe that all humankind races spring from one big umbrella of race as the result of evolution process, for instance, the development of the early human species such as Pithecanthropus erectus who has different physical features from modern human species.

Factors contributing to the physical differences of each race are as follow:

1. Geographic and climate condition

People live in cold region will have a high nose. This way it will be more helpful for people to heat and humidify the air before inhaling. People who inhabit in tropical areas are most likely to have a wider nose.

2. Food

Different kind of food influences a variety of human's body. People who have bigger frame are spotted in cold places such as in the Northern hemisphere. On the contrary, people with small and short features are likely seen in tropical areas.

3. Marriage (amalgamation)

At present time, it is difficult to pronounce that members of the same race group will precisely share the same physical characteristics. It is due to high mobility of people which very likely to cause mixed marriage or amalgamation. For example, Caucasoid who amalgamates with Negroid is inclined to have children with either dark or light skin.

For instance, Indian-Asia people share the same physical typology with Mongoloid but inherit the facial form of Caucasoid. Another case is Ainu people in northern Japan whose facial form is closed to those of Mongoloid but their skin colour and hair type are Caucasoid.

Read:

• Definition of Social Differentiation
• Functions and Forms of Social Structure
• Definition and Characteristics of Social Structure

Amalgamation is not unusual occurrence in society today. Hence, it is difficult to locate a certain group whose race is pure. Hawaiian fits this description. Not only inhabited by indigenous people, Hawaii also welcomes immigrants such as Caucasoid (white skin), American or Asia. Sometimes those people amalgamate thus produce various new races.