Changes for page The Existence of Race

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30	30	With the advent of genetics, researchers can directly examine human population structure. Modern genomic studies have repeatedly found that human genetic variation is not a homogeneous blur, but rather clusters into discernible groups corresponding to traditional racial categories and geographic ancestry.{{footnote}}Jerry Coyne, "Once again: are 'races' social constructs without biological meaning?" *Why Evolution Is True* blog, July 19, 2022. Available at: [[https://whyevolutionistrue.com/2022/07/19/once-again-are-races-social-constructs-without-scientific-or-biological-meaning/#:~:text=,And%20Me%20stay%20in%20business]]{{/footnote}} Notably, in a landmark analysis of over 3,600 individuals from around the world, genetic clustering algorithms could sort people into distinct groups (clusters) that correspond almost perfectly to self-identified race/ethnicity. In that study, *over 99%* of individuals were genetically classified into the same group as their self-declared race (only 5 out of 3,636 were exceptions). Such findings directly refute the notion that race is purely arbitrary; instead, they show that an individual’s continental ancestry can be determined from DNA with over 99% accuracy in these samples.{{footnote}}Tang, Hua et al. *“Genetic structure, self-identified race/ethnicity, and confounding in case-control association studies.”* American Journal of Human Genetics 76(2): 268–275 (2005) – (Found that genetic clusters correspond 99.86% with self-identified race in a US sample). Available at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707625786{{/footnote}}
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32		-Genetic clusters consistently mirror the major traditional races. If humans are partitioned into, say, five genetic clusters, these turn out to correspond to people of Africa, Europe (and West Asia), East Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, respectively. (Increasing the number of clusters can subdivide groups further; for example, a six-group analysis might separate out a specific population like the Kalash of South Asia as its own cluster.) The point remains that human genetic variation is geographically structured in a roughly hierarchical way, reflecting our evolutionary history of populations expanding and diverging in relative isolation. These genetic groupings correspond closely to classical racial groupings, even if researchers today often use the terms “population” or “ancestry” instead of “race”.
	32	+Genetic clusters consistently mirror the major traditional races. If humans are partitioned into, say, five genetic clusters, these turn out to correspond to people of Africa, Europe (and West Asia), East Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, respectively.{{footnote}} Rosenberg, Noah et al. *“Genetic Structure of Human Populations.”* Science 298: 2381–2385 (2002) – (Used 377 microsatellites to find clustering into 5 continental groups). Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12493913/{{/footnote}} (Increasing the number of clusters can subdivide groups further; for example, a six-group analysis might separate out a specific population like the Kalash of South Asia as its own cluster.) The point remains that human genetic variation is geographically structured in a roughly hierarchical way, reflecting our evolutionary history of populations expanding and diverging in relative isolation. These genetic groupings correspond closely to classical racial groupings, even if researchers today often use the terms “population” or “ancestry” instead of “race”.
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34	34	One striking genetic finding is that sub-Saharan Africans form the most divergent branch of the human family tree. Worldwide DNA surveys consistently show that *Africans (especially indigenous sub-Saharan groups) have the greatest genetic distance from all other human populations*. This is consistent with the “Out of Africa” model: African lineages are the oldest and most diverse, whereas non-African populations stem from one subset of Africans that migrated out 50–70,000 years ago, acquiring additional differentiation subsequently. After the primary African vs. non-African split, the next major genetic differentiation is often observed between Oceanian (Australo-Melanesian) peoples and the rest of Eurasians. Other continental groups – Europeans, East Asians, Native Americans, etc. – cluster intermediate to those extremes. In essence, humans have a *tree-like genetic structure* with real branches, rather than being a uniform blend.{{footnote}}Jared Taylor, "The Biological Reality of Race," *American Renaissance*, October 1999. Available at: [[https://www.amren.com/archives/back-issues/october-1999/#:~:text=If%20we%20return%20to%20the,fascinating%20topic%20for%20another%20day]]{{/footnote}}
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