The Turks have acquired various settlements throughout history and traveled almost every inch of Anatolia and Central Asia. For this reason, we have been carrying the characteristics of many racial groups for generations.
Humanity has been divided over and over again according to the concept of race. Of course, the Turks were also placed in one of these groups by some anthropologists. One wonders, what is the place of the concept of race according to science, and are we really the “White race”?
First, let’s know this: In which racial group are the Turks included?
Turks have hosted a wide variety of nationalities throughout history. For this reason, we can say that we have the characteristics of many racial groups. According to studies, the most dominant among these racial groups is the Caucasian race. (Caucasoid or Europid).
The German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach classified people according to their origin, physical characteristics, and the regions they lived in. According to this study, he divided people into 5 groups: American, Malay, Ethiopian, Mongolian and Caucasian. This classification of Blumenbach was particularly popular in the 20th century. In fact, many scientists accepted this classification as correct and grouped people.
Many peoples were included in this race, called “Caucasian”, including Europe, Western, Central and Southern Asia, North Africa and the Horn of Africa. Of course, a large part of the Turks, who have been in Europe and Asia for many years, were referred to as “Caucasians”. But in Europe there were different opinions against this racial group.
Because the majority of the Caucasian race consists of people living in and around Europe, it began to be called the “White Race”.
Although the term originated in 1780, many people adopted this grouping of Blumenbach. It didn’t take long for it to be called “White”, especially since a large part of Europe was part of the Caucasian race. In fact, for some segments, being in the same group as black people has become an uncomfortable situation.
So, was it possible for everyone who passed as a Caucasian race to have a white skin color? Of course it wasn’t; The racial group, which brought together different nations throughout history, naturally also contained different skin colors. Of course, this situation has changed, and the Caucasian race, mostly Europeans, began to be associated with “White skin”.
Some of the studies carried out on racial groups were about separating blacks from the Caucasian race. Some scientists grouped dark-skinned people differently and even questioned whether they should be in the same group as humans. Black people, regardless of nationality or origin, began to be labeled “Black race”.
What does science say about “race”?
Let’s just say it right away: It doesn’t say anything. The Caucasian race or any kind of race actually makes no scientific sense. Throughout history, many scientists have grouped people in different ways and given these groups different names under the name “Race”.
For example, while a black person is referred to as a Caucasian for one scientist, another scientist argued that black people should not be included in any group. In other words, the understanding of race has changed from person to person over generations. But apart from races, we all come from one species: Homo sapiens.
As a matter of fact, even if we accept the phenomenon of separating people according to their race, it is not correct to say that the Caucasian race is exactly the “White race”. Because as we mentioned before; different nations, different skin colors were referred to as the “Caucasian race” throughout history.
This term is still used frequently today. Even as “White” again.
It’s clear that “grouping people” in biological studies makes things easier. For this reason, it is possible to see that racial groups are still used in forensic anthropology today. You may even witness that the word “Caucasian”, first used by Blumenbach, is directly translated as “Caucasian” in some sources. Although this word is used to mean “Caucasian race” or “White-skinned” especially in the USA, “Caucasians” in essence have a wide variety of skin colors.
To summarize briefly; Although the concept of race does not mean anything scientifically, unfortunately human beings have many meanings. Our separation of people according to their race and revealing the concept of race; It’s just a product of our desire to group people and exclude those who are different from ourselves. For this reason, grouping people regardless of their skin color, if we are not an anthropologist and we do not carry out a study on this subject; nothing will come our way.
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