Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
biology due to changing variables in the environment
d
also continues today (e.g.,
Jantz and
Jantz, 1999; Jantz and Jantz, 2000; Jantz, 2001
).
Earnest Hooton
Earnest Hooton and Franz Boas, while personally cordial with each other, were profes-
sional adversaries, at least in terms of their very different philosophies in physical anthro-
pology. Hooton was trained in the classics but became interested in anthropology during
time spent at Oxford (as a Rhodes Scholar) prior to earning his PhD from the University of
Wisconsin in 1911 (
Spencer, 1981; Brace, 1982
). In stark contrast to Boas, Hooton's ideas about
race were polygenic and typological (
Caspari, 2009
). Furthermore, similar to Hrdli
cka, deter-
ministic ideas were mired in his thoughts about race (
Brace, 1982; Caspari, 2009
).
Hooton was interested in the use of cranial nonmetric traits (e.g., presence/absence of the
infraorbital suture) for classificatory purposes. He created the Harvard Blanks as a standard
for recording of nonmetric traits, general cranial observations, and cranial measurements he
deemed useful for answering his research interests about body form (
Brues, 1990
).
Many of his students shared his typological ideas, and several published topics and arti-
cles that looked at race from a largely deterministic or typological point of view. Hooton's
own publications ranged from the clearly typological (On Certain Eskimoid Characters in
Icelandic Skulls
d
1918) to eccentric applications of typology and determinism (Crime and the
Man
8
d
1939). Ironically, Hooton seemingly was antiracist and participated in antiracism
activities, e.g., attempting to create an antiracism group in anthropology (
Caspari, 2003
),
yet his typological analyses supported a hierarchical arrangement of the races. From a histor-
ical perspective, even taking into account this history, Hooton is one of the most significant
figures for the development of physical anthropology (
Shapiro, 1954
).
Hooton was incredibly influential in the growth of the field in large part because physical
anthropology did not exist as an established discipline when he began at Harvard in 1913 and
his program was the first to produce PhDs rapidly in the discipline (28 overall). Many of his
students went on to lead physical anthropology programs in anthropology departments at
major universities in the United States (
Spencer, 1981; Giles, 1997
). A large majority of
currently practicing biological anthropologists (including both authors on this chapter) can
trace their educational pedigree via thesis or dissertation committee members three or four
steps back to Hooton, illustrating his overall impact on the field (
Caspari, 2009
).
SCIENTIFIC RACISM
Scientific racism is defined as the use of science to justify discrimination against groups of
people based on perceived inherent differences. These inherent differences typically begin
with skin color and other phenotypic traits that have been used to classify races and are
expanded to include culture, intelligence, and morals (
Nash, 1962; Blakey, 1999
). Scientific
8
This topic in particular showcases Hooton's beliefs that people could be categorized almost ad infinitum
(he has groups such as “native white” and “Old American,” the difference between which depends upon
how many generations their families have been in the United States) and that this typology determines
one's propensity to commit certain types of crimes.
