ABSTRACT
People have been fascinated by the physical diversity of humans long before they developed any appreciation for genetics and the modern scientific understanding of heredity. In the terms of modern genetics, the traits that make up human physical diversity are phenotypic: observable variations for which the precise genetic basis may or may not be understood. Today, human biological variation is explained through our notions of evolution and genetics, but many other theories for the origins of these differences have been entertained. Formal studies of human physical diversity have explored descriptions (the “what”) of the variable traits, as well as the theoretical underpinning for the “how” and “why” of these traits.
