The same fossil evidence becomes world history or national myth depending on context

Evidence

In the West, scientists treat the Chinese fossil evidence as part of the broad picture of human evolution world-wide; in China, it is part of national history - an ancient and fragmentary part, it is true, but none the less one that is called upon to promote a unifying concept of unique origin and continuity within the Chinese nation. (Reader, 1990:111) Serological studies have also been carried out to highlight the biological proximity of all minorities to the Han. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3347

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the Milgrom/Shapiro idea that institutions and context determine how evidence is read; also echoes the ‘science as culture’ theme from the reader’s other books.
• DEEPTHINKING: A single sentence that captures how the identity of the knowledge-community shapes the meaning of the same physical evidence — worth sitting with across disciplines.