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Question:How can people tell which ethnicity someone is by looking at their physical features? Maybe I'm slow, is there somewhere I can read about this?

I was wondering about my friend we dont know anything about his cultural background but he's caucasian and has a big nose and thick lips, what ethnicity could this be?

Any help is appreciated.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: How can people tell which ethnicity someone is by looking at their physical features? Maybe I'm slow, is there somewhere I can read about this?

I was wondering about my friend we dont know anything about his cultural background but he's caucasian and has a big nose and thick lips, what ethnicity could this be?

Any help is appreciated.

It takes lots of practice and isn't a science. When I was in Malaysia for two years, I got so I could tell Iban, Malay and Chinese people apart, usually. When I was in San Francisco I went to a "Chieftains" concert, looked around at the audience and realized at least half of them were Irish. I expect international airline stewardesses and people who work at Disneyland or the London Airport or a bar frequented by sailors in Singapore can get pretty good at it, and still muff it now and again.

Most people in the US are a mixture, so it is harder that it would be in, for instance, a bar in Iceland frequented by both Icelanders and Japanese sailors.

Does your friend know who his parents are? (I'm not kidding. If he was adopted at birth he won't.) If they are alive and speaking to him, he can ask them about their parents or even grandparents, and get back 4 generations. If you are in the US, chances are he is a mixture like all of the rest of us.

u really cant tell, since people could change religions whenevr they want, and might choose a religion different form their country. for some people, its kinda seemingly obvious, like if u saw a monk walking around in yellow or orange robes, he's most likely a buddist monk. but catholics, for example, can look like anybody. they can have any skin color, clothes, gender, everything! so u really cant tell.
sry for any unhelpfullness.