Definition of Ethnic Groups

The concept of ethnic groups is used in social Sciences to refer to the different groups of people that make up Humanity and who are responsible for human beings presenting notable differences between them not only at the level of physical traits (for example, skin color, eyes, hair type, physical structure) but also at the level cultural (for example, religious practices, the manner of social organization, economic activities, etc.). Ethnic groups are very varied and although today the phenomenon of globalization tends to unite differences and to make the elements of many ethnic groups disappear, those outstanding elements always maintain their distinction and give richness to the human diversity.

The qualification of ethnic groups can be understood from both a biological and a social point of view. In this sense, the belonging of an individual to a certain ethnic group has to do with the information or data that it carries in her genes and that will inevitably cause her to be born with many physical and biological traits similar to those of their ancestors, for example a dark skin color, a curly hair type, light eyes or short stature to name a few possibilities.

The social comes into the concept of ethnic groups when we talk about everything that the human being creates that escapes nature and that makes up the identity of that group, for example religious forms and practices (official or pagan), type of social organization (patriarchal or matriarchal), forms of entertainment or fun, the gastronomy, the language and the different forms of communication, etc. All these elements also distinguish the different ethnic groups and set them against the others since they are their own elements that may or may not be shared by other ethnic groups. For example, the Irish have cultural elements more similar to the Spanish than the Chinese, but they are still different from each other.