I tend to take the view that it's *both*.
As I've jokingly noted, if my dad was born 20 miles to the east and spoke Spanish, I'd be *Hispanic* and not "black". Race is something that exists in a biological sense, but the social reaction to it is the social construct.
Well, it's very vague because there aren't hard lines for the measure. That's inherent to that level of taxonomy. It exists, but it's rather fuzzy and inexact, with lots of overlap, and they keep changing the classifications.
To me, the Elbe-Germanen and the Bajuwaren are distinct races, but they often get lumped in with Germanics or Alpines, or whatever, and they're all European or white.
You could also go by eye color or height, or whatever. You can identify people by any measure you choose, with more or less validity.
