The Difference of the Species

[Nukapei]

I've been wondering -- how do people in Middle-earth tell which species a stranger belongs to? I'm speaking mainly of the difference between Elves and Men -- the rest (Dwarves, Hobbits, Ents, Orcs, etc) are pretty easy to tell apart. But what of the children of Ilúvatar? Is it perhaps cultural (Silvan Elves wear these clothes and their hair this way, whereas Men from Gondor this way)? Or physical? Or perhaps something subtle, that someone not used to looking for it would never be able to tell? I know about Elves having ears the shape of leaves, but you can't always see a person's ear -- either distance of hair can obstruct your view! I was just wondering, since the characters in the book seem to be able to tell the difference right away, whereas I don't know if a person from real Earth could.

And, if it's cultural, could that have played a part in Arwen's falling in love with Aragorn (because Galadriel dressed him as an "elf-lord", so if it was cultural, she might have mistaken him for an Elf!)

I think that the majority of elves (or all of them) are fairer in face than men and they are generally taller (I think). For men perhaps these characteristics help identify the species.
For the elves, with their sight, wisdom and knowledge, perhaps they can recognise something about the person by looking at them, or looking in their eyes (-the eyes are the windows to the soul...). I always thought this from the tale of Tuor. I think it was Voronwe who thought that Tuor, the tallest of men, was an Elf-lord when he first seen him in the armour and helm of Nevrast. But when he saw his face more clearly he recognised that he was a man. The passage with Legolas and Imrahil of Dol Amroth also made me think this way.

[Ainaserkewen]

Elves always seem to "glow" with radiance and "special-ness", to put it plainly. I remember when Frodo first meets the travelling elves in the forest and he recognises them (Sam aswell) instantly. I don't have the book right now, but that's what first came to my mind.

Perhaps it is cultural because of how Elves dress, walk, speak, linger, whatever. Perhaps like the surface differences between the rich and the poor or the educated and the not.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Nukapei

I've been wondering -- how do people in Middle-earth tell which species a stranger belongs to?

Biologically speaking, Elves and Men must have been the same species, since they were able to inter-breed (as I recall, Tolkien addresses this in one of his Letters). Orcs too, it seems, were able to breed (or be bred) with Men and were also (on one analysis) corrupted Elves. Hobbits are said to be related to Men and were therefore, probably, the same species. Dwarves are more difficult, given their different origins, but I would speculate that they too were the same species because of their broadly similar humanoid appearance. Maiar apart, who were able to take on any physical (and therefore biological?) form, the only sentient beings (other than animals) that I would class as possibly belonging to separate species are Ents and Trolls (although the two of these might themselves have belonged to the same species, if Treebeard's explanation of Trollish origins is to be believed).

So I would class Men, Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves and Orcs as one species split into different races. How do we tell races apart in our own world? Well, there are clear physical differences between many races - in skin colour, features, height etc. With Orcs, Dwarves and Hobbits, their differing physical appearances are, as you say, clear. But it may well be that Elves and Men could also be told apart by means of distinctive physical differences, their facial features for example.

[Formendacil]

I don't know about all the human-esque sentients being bascially the same species. That Men and Elves are biologically the same (and thus the same species) is stated by Tolkien, as is the fact that the Hobbits are an off-shoot of Men. Thus, we seem to have three sub-species of Homo Sapiens: Homo Sapiens Sapiens, Homo Sapiens Quendi, and Home Sapiens Hobbitus. However, I would say that the orks, what with Morgoth's heavy hand in changing their biology, are probably a different species, although the same genus, since they can interbreed with humans and Elves (although there is no definite indication that these offspring are fertile, as they are in the case of Man/Elf offspring). Let us call them Homo Orkus. I would say that the Dwarves are a similar case, Homo Khazadus.

And, while I'm having fun with scientific classification, where would we put the Ents on the tree of life? It's pretty easy to give them a scientific name, such as Onodrimus Fangornus, but where do they belong? Are they plant or animal?

Same with the trolls, which seem to come in at least two species: Trollus Lapis (Stone Troll) and Trollus Ologgus. However, the question of where they belong on the tree of life is a bit uncertain. They are certainly not plant, but are they animal? Does that make them some sort of gigantic bacteria!

Anyways, there are my scientific names for the races of Middle-earth. Take them or leave them as you like. At least I had fun making them.

[Tinuviel of Denton]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

Dwarves are more difficult, given their different origins, but I would speculate that they too were the same species because of their broadly similar humanoid appearance.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Aule fashion them to look as much like the vision of the Children of Iluvatar as he could, but his memory was faulty, and they came out stunted and not as 'beautiful'? There's no mention anywhere of them interbreeding with any other races, after all, so...

*frown*

Okay, starting over ish. Take a wolverine and a raccoon; they look broadly similar, but they aren't even in the same family, let alone variations of the same species. (Yes, I know, Dwarves and the rest of the sentient races in Middle-earth are not animals.) It just seems quite a jump to take to say 'They look vaguely the same, so they're probably the same species.'

Did that make any sense?

[Mithalwen]

They don't always get it right - even Faramir & Co were baffled by hobbits and Gollum ....

Remember that most of the ME communities were fairly insular - any stranger probably looked "foreign", styles of dress and speech are giveaways as well as physical appearance.

Also the (for want of a better term) inbreeding probably gave the groups a more distinctive appearance. The rangers were thought suspicious by the men of Bree and they were probably quite distictive by their great height. Similarly in the South there were distinctive groups. Blond Rohirrim and dark gondorians for a start....

I think the elves were probably fairly distinctive but then beautiful people do tend to get noticed!!!

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

However, I would say that the orks, what with Morgoth's heavy hand in changing their biology, are probably a different species, although the same genus, since they can interbreed with humans and Elves ...

My biology is rusty. Is it right that things of a different species but the same genus can interbreed? If so, then I would agree with you. I suspect that the offspring of interbred Orcs and Men would be capable of reproduction, but I have no evidence to back up that point.

It just seems quite a jump to take to say 'They look vaguely the same, so they're probably the same species.'

I would put Men and Dwarves a lot closer, biologically speaking, than racoons and wolverines. To all intents and purposes they were biologically identical with the exception of size/build and longetivity (and, perhaps, rate of beard growth ). But, assuming that Formendacil is correct, I would agree with him and place them in a different species but the same genus.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

My biology is rusty. Is it right that things of a different species but the same genus can interbreed? If so, then I would agree with you. I suspect that the offspring of interbred Orcs and Men would be capable of reproduction, but I have no evidence to back up that point.

I doubt if my biology is much sharper, but the example of donkeys and horses comes to mind. These can interbreed, are certainly not the same species (if someone comes in and tells me they are, then I give up all belief in science). The offspring, Mules, are sterile. I also know that lions and tigers can breed, although I have no idea as to the fertility of the offspring.

[Legolas]

From Letter No. 153, the oft-quoted letter that addresses several points, though it was never sent - marked "taking myself too seriously" and set aside.

Elves and Men are evidently in biological terms one race, or they could not breed and produce fertile offspring – even as a rare event : there are 2 cases only in my legends of such unions, and they are merged in the descendants of Eärendil. But since some have held that the rate of longevity is a biological characteristic, within limits of variation, you could not have Elves in a sense 'immortal' – not eternal, but not dying by 'old age' — and Men mortal, more or less as they now seem to be in the Primary World – and yet sufficiently akin. I might answer that this 'biology' is only a theory, that modern 'gerontology', or whatever they call it, finds 'ageing' rather more mysterious, and less clearly inevitable in bodies of human structure. But I should actually answer: I do not care. This is a biological dictum in my imaginary world. It is only (as yet) an incompletely imagined world, a rudimentary 'secondary'; but if it pleased the Creator to give it (in a corrected form) Reality on any plane, then you would just have to enter it and begin studying its different biology, that is all.
But as it is — though it seems to have grown out of hand, so that parts seem (to me) rather revealed through me than by me – its purpose is still largely literary (and, if you don't boggle at the term, didactic). Elves and Men are represented as biologically akin in this 'history', because Elves are certain aspects of Men and their talents and desires, incarnated in my little world. They have certain freedoms and powers we should like to have, and the beauty and peril and sorrow of the possession of these things is exhibited in them.

I've boldfaced the statements that address the biological relatedness of Men and Elves and italicized those statements that state the purpose and provide 'justification' for what may appear to some as 'wrong' or at least inconsistent with our world. The main problem with Elves and Men being the same race Mr. Hastings must have presented (or someone else whom Tolkien discussed the matter with) was the difference in longevity - stating that for one to be immortal and one mortal means they are too different to be called the same race (though I disagree with this and find Tolkien's concept to be okay even by our world).

In the italicized comments, you can read for yourself why he considered them to be so, but also Tolkien points out that this is indeed a work of fiction and not reality, and in such a case, the biology of his world can't be expected to match up the biology of our world. This difference means that there may be some inconsistencies that puzzle us at first glance. It's a part of his world though, where new and different biorealities may apply.

I wouldn't call them inconsistencies (except for immortality and Elves themselves since both are fictitious, obviously). I used 'biorealities' instead of biological information because biological implies biology (study of life) and such information is just knowledge through observation - only knowing as far as you can observe and understand yourself, which isn't always the whole picture. While Arda was supposed to flow into our world, looking at it through our eyes isn't going to work all of the time. "Species" is just part of a method of classification developed relatively recently and used by science almost universally. Every guideline we have for considering organisms to be of the same species, genus, family, order, class, phlyum, or kingdom is based on the organisms that we've been able to study, whether dead or alive. Difference in longevity/mortality has never been a complication in our world because there is no such thing as (and nothing similar to) the Elves' immortality. We have no elves to study.

So the question is, are Elves and Men the same race? Well, does the difference in longevity mean enough to consider them separate races? Would immortality set organisms apart at the kingdom level? Would there be an 'immortalia' kingdom? Or at a different level of the tree? Tolkien as Middle-earth's all-knowing creator says they are of the same race, so they must be part of the same species - means the division must be subspecies or however you want to break it down further.

In the quote, when Tolkien says 'race,' he is intending 'species' as we know it, since the term 'race' has come to classify more in terms of a broad ethinc background (Hispanic, Caucasian, etc.) rather than a higher division/difference like 'species' where the ability to produce fertile offspring would be in question.

[Nukapei]

Whoops, bad wording on my part! I'm fully aware of the biological classification of the different races (better term, perhaps? ), and have often wondered what they would think if told this. I was simply asking how the different races would tell the difference between them. The fact that Elves "glowed" is interesting -- so, you see a potential Elf / Man, if he glows he's an Elf, if he doesn't he isn't? Is it only the skin that glows (so a heavily clothed humanoid can cause confusion), hence Tuor (and the reason his face gave him away?

[Legolas]

No, I think your question was worded appropriately...I was addressing certain responses instead of your initial post. I think elves and men would be able to recognize based on the basic characteristics we know about each. On the whole, apparently men were shorter, except for the Numenoreans. You don't really hear of blonde haired men, so that would be a distinguishing trait.

I was looking for some specific quotes that come to mind that speak of the elves' aura, just a presence about them...I'll post again when I find them.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Legolas

You don't really hear of blonde haired men, so that would be a distinguishing trait.

Hardly.

The House of Hador, its related ancestors of the Northmen, the Northmen, some of the Numenoreans, and the descendents of the Northmen (aka the Rohirrim) are all said to have been "golden-haired".

It is the Elves that are rare as blond/blondes.

Of the Vanyar, the Noldor, and the Teleri, only the Vanyar are said to have been predominantly blond. The Noldor and the Teleri (including the branches of Sindar, Nandor, Silvan, Avari), who are the Elves seen in Middle-earth, are described as mainly dark-haired. Only a smattering of silver-heads, copper-tops, and golden-tresses among them.