John Baker (biologist)
| John Randal Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born |
23 October 1900 Woodbridge, Suffolk |
| Died | 8 June 1984 (aged 83) |
| Citizenship |
 British
|
| Fields | Biology, physical anthropology |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Thesis | Sex studies on mammals (1927) |
| Doctoral students | Jock Marshall |
John Randal Baker FRS (23 October 1900 – 8 June 1984) was a biologist, zoologist, and professor at the University of Oxford (where he was the Emeritus Reader in Cytology) in the mid-twentieth century. In his 1974 book, Race, Baker classifies human races in the same way in which animal subspecies are classified. John Baker received his PhD at the University of Oxford in 1927.
His papers in the Bodleian Library include papers relating to the Indian Mutiny, Ashanti Campaign, Egyptian Campaign of 1882, and other military campaigns of General Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet, who was J R Baker's maternal grandfather.
In Race, Baker explores, among other things, the nature of civilization, giving 23 criteria by which civilizations may be identified. He explores the relationship between the biological traits and the cultures of five civilizations. Based on these criteria, Baker declared that Mesoamerican societies such as those of the Aztecs and Maya were not civilizations, and that no indigenous civilizations ever arose in Africa. Baker rejected the methodological relativism that has characterized anthropology since the days of Franz Boas, instead going back to earlier ideas of hereditarianism and cultural evolution. The book received mixed reviews.
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