ABSTRACT
Few subjects have been more controversial than the race concept tn anthropology. Despite the assumption that they are the most knowledgeable about the evolutionary biology of the human species, contemporary physical anthropologists hold radically differing views of race. At one extreme is the position that human races are clear-cut biological entities deeply rooted in man's evolutionary past (Coon, 1962, 1965). At the other is the view that the concept of race is biologically invalid and totally inapplicable to Homo sapiens (Brace, 1964; Livingstone, 1964; Montagu, 1964a). Between these extreme positions lies the view that the race concept, though it has strong limitations and cannot be used uncritically, has some utility in teaching, research, and other activities that involve generalizing and communicating about genetically differing groups of mankind (Garn, 1961; Baker, 1967; Brues, 1977). Even those who agree that races can be delineated in man often differ about the number of racial categories to be defined and on the placement of various populations within them.
