• Question: why do people from certain civilisations look similar?

    Asked by safia to Vera on 13 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Vera Weisbecker

      Vera Weisbecker answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Because we are all the same species and therefore carry inside us all the genes that are necessary to make us look a certain way.

Comments

  • Photo: 29905340hw

    29905340hw commented on :

    we want more detail!

  • Photo: Vera

    Vera commented on :

    Ok, more detail – and also a disclaimer that what I am saying is probably very simplistic since I’m not a human evolutionary biologist. The similarity between different civilisations has probably less to do with the civilisations as such, more with the fact that people who live in similar environments tend to look similar (e.g. southern peoples tend to be darker skinned because their skin needs this inbuilt protection from the sun). What I referred to in my first response is that similarities between people arise because we all have the same genetic make up. This means that our genes allow us to turn fair or dark skinned, tall or small, and also change our skull shape or facial features to varying degrees. That is what can make people very similar despite living in completely different civilisations and not having any contact with each other for thousands of years. Better?

  • Photo: hellostranger

    hellostranger commented on :

    We want even more detail!