Video and Multimedia

Video 1: The Biology of Skin Color

Description: This 18-min video explains how skin color serves as an evolutionary adaptive mechanism to one’s ecological surroundings. It provides a detailed description of how melanin functions and how the sun interacts with it.  

Video 2: Malaria and Sickle Cell Anemia

Description: This video details the history and relationship between sickle cell and malaria. It provides the genetic evidence on how the sickle cell trait protected people from Malaria.

Video 3: IQ The Educational Elephant in the Room

Description: About a 10-min TEDx Talk that focuses on the concept of IQ. IQ is shaped through inheritance and schooling. The TED Talk discusses how IQ functions as a sorting mechanism and how IQ testing works using one’s conscious mind. The scientist makes recommendations on how schools can help move away from the focus on IQ.

Web 1: Three High-Altitude Peoples

Description: This slideshow and web article provides glimpses into the Andean, Ethiopian, and Tibetan peoples who illustrate high-altitude adaptations. The article explains how high-altitude populations offer unique explanations about biocultural adaptations.

Web 2: The Science Behind the Super Abilities of Sherpas

Description: This NPR article highlights the uniqueness of the Nepalese Sherpas and how their extra oxygen-carrying red blood cells surge. The research study highlighted in the article discusses how the muscles of the Sherpas converted more oxygen into energy. The better use of oxygen allows the Sherpas’ muscles to get more mileage out of less oxygen.

Web 3: The American Anthropological Association Human Variation Interactive Website

Description: This website reviews content from Chapter 6 related to human variation. It includes an engaging and interactive quiz related to human variation questions specific to race. It also includes a timeline which covers the early classification of race, which can be beneficial for students to understand how the concept of race is sociocultural as opposed to biological.

Web 4: Race - The Power of an Illusion

Description: An interactive website that explores the “science” behind race. The website was built around the three-part documentary series, “Race: The Power of an Illusion.” The first video, “The Stories We Tell” delves into human variation in a very relatable manner. While the video series was shot in 2003, it is still very relevant and the website offers an engaging web experience.