A way of classifying humans into large groups based on inherited characteristics, physical appearance, and many other factors. While it is true that some groups of humans share large portions of their evolutionary history (and that this shared evolutionary history has biological implications), scientists agree that there is no biological basis for dividing Homo sapiens into discrete “races,” as they have been socially defined. For more details, see our resource on genetic variation and ethnicity in Evolution 101 or our news story on why evolutionary history matters.