"Biological race is the myth that there is something inherently biological about the differences between these constructed groups, that the human species is divided into races. In the early 20th century, for example, Irish and Italian immigrants weren't considered white, although they are today. ![]() These categories are not only a human creation, but they have changed through the years based on government priorities and social sentiment. The categories we're all familiar with from census forms to employment applications - African-American/Black, European-American/white, Asian-American and so forth - are examples of social race. "Since the time of professionalization of the field in the late 1970s, we've just taken as fact that ancestry estimation could and should be done," she said. When forensic anthropology became formalized later in the 20th century, it kept the practice of ancestry estimation. It should be noted, DiGangi said, that these scientists were all European men themselves. However, the practice was originally anything but neutral: scientists used these features to classify races they had already arbitrarily defined, with the goal of proving the superiority of European men. Ancestry estimation, which analyzes bone structures - especially those in the face or skull - to determine ancestral origin was among the early developments. The field was initially created by anatomists who had human skeletons in their museums or medical schools they began studying the bones to see what could be learned from their features. ![]() Co-authored with Jonathan Bethard of the University of South Florida, "Uncloaking a Lost Cause: Decolonizing ancestry estimation in the United States" explores a practice that dates back to the very origins of forensic anthropology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Why, then, are they still relying on a tool from the field's negative roots in "race science"?īinghamton University Associate Professor of Anthropology Elizabeth DiGangi addresses this issue in a recent article in The American Journal of Physical Anthropology. They lack the traits we so often use to categorize fellow humans: hair texture, the shape of nose and eye, skin pigmentation.įorensic anthropologists know that race isn't based in biological fact, but in a history and culture that assigns meaning to physical traits that occur among different human populations. BINGHAMTON, NY - Ancestry estimation - a method used by forensic anthropologists to determine ancestral origin by analyzing bone structures - is rooted in "race science" and perpetuates white supremacy, according to a new paper by a forensic anthropologist at Binghamton University, State University of New York.īy themselves, bones seem somewhat uniform to the untrained eye.
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