Ethnic Identifiers are Not Necessarily Excellent Population Identifiers: A Commentary from the Turkana in North-Western Kenya

Ethnic identifiers, commonly used as population references, may not reliably distinguish human populations due to cultural learning and genetic heterogeneity. A study analyzing the Turkana people of North-Western Kenya challenges the assumption that language, culture, or subsistence practices accurately reflect biological or genetic differences. Instead, it proposes that sampling location and GPS coordinates could serve as more precise identifiers, accounting for environmental variations that influence population traits. This commentary highlights the limitations of traditional ethnic categorization in research, emphasizing the need for nuanced approaches to avoid erroneous conclusions when studying human populations.

M, M. D., & M, M. L. (2020). Ethnic Identifiers are Not Necessarily Excellent Population Identifiers: A Commentary from the Turkana in North-Western Kenya. The International Journal of Humanities & Social Studies, 8(5). https://doi.org/10.24940/theijhss/2020/v8/i5/hs2002-077