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This paper reviews some concepts, comments, and studies from various time periods, as well as recent presentations in the media and studies, on Nile Valley peoples. It illustrates problems related to ongoing racial paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carthage was founded in northwestern Africa (in present-day Tunisia), by Phoenician settler colonists from the Levant in the first millennium BCE, and conquered by Rome in the second century BCE. This region had an indigenous population and was not terra nullius. Textual evidence suggests Carthaginians throughout their history ascribed prestige to Phoenician ancestry, which might suggest a predisposition to endogamy, although there is textual and archaeological evidence for interaction with the indigenous people. This brief report explores the relative craniometric affinities of a small pre-Roman Carthaginian series to ancient and modern ones from these two regions (the Levant and the Maghreb) using distance and discriminant analyses. The results indicate a craniometric pattern intermediate to the two ancient series (one Phoenician, the other Maghreban), but slightly closer to the one from the ancient Maghreb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We carried out an exploratory historical biology study using temporally distinguished groups of predynastic-Early Dynastic male crania from the region of Upper Egypt. The objectives were, first, to determine the overall pattern of phenetic affinity between temporally sequential series and in relation to the earliest series and, second, to explore the possible meanings of the pattern of relationship to sociohistorical change. The cranial series were designated early predynastic, late predynastic, terminal predynastic, and Dynasty I. Craniometric phenetic affinity was ascertained using Mahalanobis distances; a 5%level of probability was chosen for significance. The distance matrix values were ordered into hierarchies of dissimilarity from each series (distance hierarchies) and tabulated for time-successive groups, including the temporally earliest series (i.e., serialized by time). The principal observations were as follows. The overall pattern was not one in which the values between all series were statistically insignificant; nor was it one of consistent sequential increase of biological distance from the earliest series. There was a notable and statistically significant distance between the early and late predynastic groups, with the late and terminal predynastic groups mutually having the lowest and statistically insignificant distances with each other. The value between the terminal predynastic and Dynasty I series was generally larger than the values between other groups and was statistically significant. The overall pattern is possibly consistent with archeological interpretations that postulate increasing intraregional interactions during the late and terminal predynastic periods and the rise of an Egyptian state that eventually included northern Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male Badarian crania were analyzed using the generalized distance of Mahalanobis in a comparative analysis with other African and European series from the Howells's database. The study was carried out to examine the affinities of the Badarians to evaluate, in preliminary fashion, a demic diffusion hypothesis that postulates that horticulture and the Afro-Asiatic language family were brought ultimately from southern Europe. (The assumption was made that the southern Europeans would be more similar to the central and northern Europeans than to any indigenous African populations.) The Badarians show a greater affinity to indigenous Africans while not being identical. This suggests that the Badarians were more affiliated with local and an indigenous African population than with Europeans. It is more likely that Near Eastern/southern European domesticated animals and plants were adopted by indigenous Nile Valley people without a major immigration of non-Africans. There was more of cultural transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The possible factors involved in the generation of the p49a,f TaqI Y-chromosome spatial diversity in Egypt are explored. The object is to consider explanations beyond those that emphasize gene flow mediated via military campaigns within the Nile corridor during the dynastic period. Current patterns of the most common variants (V, XI, IV) have been suggested to relate to Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom political actions in Nubia, including sometimes settler colonization, and the conquest of Egypt by Napata (in upper Nubia, northern Sudan) that initiated Dynasty XXV. Other events or processes have not been presented. However, a synthesis of evidence from archaeology, historical linguistics, texts, the distribution of haplotypes outside of Egypt, and some demographic considerations, lends greater support to the establishment, before the Middle Kingdom, of the observed distributions of the most prevalent haplotypes: V, XI, and IV. It is suggested that the pattern of diversity for these variants in the Egyptian Nile Valley, was largely the product of population events that occurred in the late Pleistocene to mid-Holocene through Dynasty I, and was sustained by continuous smaller scale bi-directional migrations/interactions. The higher frequency of V in Ethiopia than in Nubia or upper (southern) Egypt, has to be taken into account in any discussion of variation in the Nile Valley, especially in the context of the findings of historical linguistics. Les facteurs possibles qui etaient parmi la generation de p49a,f TaqI Y-divers chromosome spatiale en Egypte, avaient ete explores. L’objectif etait de prendre en consideration les explications autour de celles qui mettaient l’accent sur le gene flow qui avait ete medie a partir des campagnes militaries dans le corridor du Nil, pendant la periode dynastique. Les modeles courants des varieties communes (V, XI, IV) avaient ete suggeres pour qu’ils soient en lien avec les actes politiques du Royaume Moyen et du Royaume Nouveau de Nubie, inclu quelques colonies, et la conquete de l’Egypte par Napta (en Haut Nubie, au Nord du Soudan), cela avait initie la 25eme dynastie. D’autres evenements ou procedures, n’avaient pas ete presentes. Ainsi, une synthese d’evidence de l’archeologie, de langues historiques, de textes, la distribution des haplotypes en dehors de l’Egypte, et quelques considerations demographiques avaient servi de grand support a l’etablissement, avant le Royaume Moyen, des distributions observees des varietes les plus prevalents: V, XI, and IV. Il est suggere que le modele de diversite pour ces varieties dans la Vallee du Nil Egyptien, etait largement le produit des evenements populaires qui s’etaient passes dans la derniere periode du Pleistocene au Moyen-Holocene jusqu’a la Premiere Dynastie, et etait soutenu par de petites echelles continue de demi-migrations/interactions directional. La plus grande frequence de V en Ethiopie qu’en Nubie ou plus haut, au Sud de l’Egypte, doit etre prise en considerartion dans n’importe quelle discussion de variation dans la Vallee du Nil, speciallement dans le contexte des decouvertes de langues historiques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the relationship between the patterns of biological and sociocultural variation in extant humans? Is this relationship accurately described, or best explained, by the term 'race' and the schema of 'racial' classification? What is the relationship between 'race', genetics and the demographic groups of society? Can extant humans be categorized into units that can scientifically be called 'races'? These questions underlie the discussions that address the explanations for the observed differences in many domains between named demographic groups across societies. These domains include disease incidence and prevalence and other variables studied by biologists and social scientists. Here, we offer a perspective on understanding human variation by exploring the meaning and use of the term 'race' and its relationship to a range of data. The quest is for a more useful approach with which to understand human biological variation, one that may provide better research designs and inform public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proposes an evolutionary biogeographical model as an alternative to racial explanatory models of African biological diversity. Manifestation of the racial paradigm; Definition of racial divergence; Existence of the overall pattern of genetic variation within and outside of Africa.

Presents a letter to the editor about language of food producing people in Africa.

The article presents the author's views on the study "Genes, Tribes, and African History," by Scott MacEachern, which has been published within the issue. MacEachern's article focused on human genetics and African social history. Referring to the insights given in the study, the author feels that the study is useful for further investigation. According to the author, there are some technical problems in the study. Some racial typologies have been suggested by the author.