Why is it that different regions of Earth create different looking people?

Question

Like if you are from Asia you have slanted eyes and are a bit on the short side, if you are from the mid-east you have dark hair and dark skin and large noses...what's the explanation? I know CLIMATE affects it, but there must be SOME other reason...

Answer 1

because when people evolved they adapted to their environments to survive and since the environments were different everywhere, everyone looked different.

Answer 2

You're right in climate (which is probably the biggest reason). Food and diet are also important factors to consider. Here stateside we eat lots of stuff with preservatives and growth hormones. That's why we have lots of nearly fully mature 13 year old girls and boys! Can't speak for much of the world since I'm poor and therefore not a traveller but I do know in Asian countries, they typically use fresh food. Since they don't have all the junk in them, the people don't usually get as big. This is all very relative and very broad for the population though. Also, some of your question just flat out goes back to the whole "survival of the fittest" idea in that those people look similar because it is what was best for that time and (again) climate.

Answer 3

It's also because the peoples in each of the regions come from similar ancestors. People tend to look like their relatives. Mutations in DNA have brought about more diversity as groups go from one generation to another. Think about if you and your spouse, your siblings, and their spouses all lived together on an island. No one else was there. Eventually, your children would marry each other (and it's not gross, because you are the last people on earth and you have to make sure the species survives). After 10 generations, there will be a lot of people. All the people will have some similar features--probably similar colored hair, similar noses, etc like you would see in a city in china or a city in Istanbul. Everyone looks different and yet the same.

Answer 4

Solar radiation plays a part. The closer your ancestral homeland is to the equator, the darker your skin is, as your ancestors evolved with more melanin in the skin (to protect against the sun's ultraviolet radiation). Northern Europe receives far less sunlight than, say, Nigeria, and therefore people living there need less protection.

Evolution plays a part in body shape as well. It has been found that ethnicities from "hot" climates generally are tall and thin, and ethnicities from "cold" climates are typically short and squat. This ties in with the body's surface area. the tall,thin person has more skin surface area per unit mass, and therefore radiates excess heat easier. The short, squat person has less surface area per unit mass, and therefore is better at retaining warmth.

Answer 5

EVOLUTION BABY!!!!

I also reccoment reading 'Guns, Germs, and Steel', by Jarred Diamond

Answer 6

Genes....Asian people usually marry asian people, same for every one else...... since they marry the same kinda lookin people there kids look like em and there kids look like em..kinda freaky actually...

Answer 7

maybe the same way that the plants are different too

Answer 8

EVOLUTION!!!!!!!