I guess it's really no great surprise. I mean, between 100,000 and 150,000 years ago, there were no ethnic differences between Homo sapiens. We were basically all Africans, whatever that meant. It was only when we started to move away from Africa that the marvelous variation in humans began to be created. Languages, traditions, religion, skin color, all continued to grow and change after we left, as we adapted to the new environments. But, because the basic elements of human variation were in place before we left Africa, the variations are still very minor indeed. No single trait, no combination of traits, not skin color, not language, not traditions, is exclusive to one group of people.
And yet, people's ethnicity is real. The reality of ethnicity is most apparent in the modern world because of the conflicts engendered there. You try telling the Bosnians and Serbs there are no meaningful differences between them. Or Israel and the PLO. Sunnis and Shiites. Or the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. Or the whites, blacks, and Hispanics of the United States. I'd love to say to these warring groups: "Hey guys, there are no quantifiable differences between you so KNOCK IT OFF!"
The problems of identifying archaeological correlates of ethnic groups seem minor in comparison; but they pose interesting questions, and they underline the basic similarity between us.What researchers do is look for symbols on permanent artifacts, such as pottery style changes, similar burial or other religious practices, similarities in village settlement patterns. Here are some recent efforts to deal with the problem by researchers all over the world.
