Origins: An End to Racism
Strangely enough, Svante Paabo’s recent Nobel Prize in Medicine for sequencing the genomes of Homo Neanderthalensis and Homo Denisovan, two predecessors of “modern man” Homo Sapiens, firmly ends any consideration of racism. Factually, both these variants of humanity originated in Africa, and were the survivors of our global diaspora. Both existed in successful subsistence cultures in very different environments for a very long time, overlapping each other in time but apparently not in space. They still exist today within us all, as 1-4% of the genome of European peoples are Neanderthal in origin, and 1-6% of Asian peoples’ genome is Denisovan. Thus, we know that although Homo Sapiens outcompeted both populations (or perhaps disease played a role), coexistence in time and space and culture occurred with sexual exchange by mating or conquest. The key to humanity’s commonality is in the timing of the arrival of modern humans everywhere in the world.
The work of many geneticists and anthropologists has established the exodus of Homo Sapiens out of Africa about 70,000 years ago. With larger brain cavities and more successful cultures they spread quickly over most of the globe, displacing those that came before them. They are we now, in all our “multiracial” and “multiethnic” glory. But despite our obvious visible differences, under the skin we are all alike. Each of us can receive blood or tissue transplant from some other modern human anywhere in the world who happens to be a good enough genetic match. Given this absolute commonality of being, why must we continue to consider such a false notion as race? Because it is in our nature, from our ancient tribal subsistence groupings, to be wary of the other, no matter how similar or dissimilar they appear. Well past time it is for our nurture, our cultural genetics that mutate and evolve so much more rapidly than our biological nature, to purposefully and intentionally overcome that fearful reluctance. Be aware. Remember. We are all Africans.