It was not the Europeans who first recognized the different physical characteristics of humankind. In fact, it was Cheikh Anta Diop that pointed to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics confirming their recognition of different races or types of people.

See: http://www.geocities.com/wally_mo/

The term 'race' may have come to us via Europeans, but the practice of recognizing differences in people cannot be simply credited to Europeans.

In any case, I am certain that the human animal in the past could have easily discerned physical differences among people by merely looking at others possessing these differences.

It was the Europeans, however, who implemented a hierarchical system, and oppressed other groups of people, based on these physical characteristics.