Can a half-elf take human traits?

Question

Can a half-elf raised by Varisian nomads take the trait Varisian Tattoo?

Answer 1

A half-elf can take human race traits

The Pathfinder Core Rulebook FAQ includes this exchange:

Half-Elf or Half-Orc: Can a character of either of these races select human racial archetypes (such as from Advanced Race Guide)?

Yes. Half-elves and half-orcs may select racial favored class options, archetypes, traits, and so on, as if they were a full member of both races (a half-elf can select elf and human rules elements, a half-orc can select human and orc rules elements).

• Edit 9/26/13: This is a reversal of an earlier ruling. This resolves a discrepancy between this FAQ and two Advanced Player's Guide FAQs.

(Emphasis and formatting mine.)

Answer 2

Half-elves count both as human and elf for any traits, feats, magic items or effects that work only on a certain race.

From the core rulebook:

Elf Blood: Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.

Answer 3

This is an old question, but a frequent one and the other answers have missed a decisive rule from the Advanced Race Guide:

Every humanoid creature also has a subtype to match its race, such as human, giant, goblinoid, reptilian, or tengu. If you are making a new humanoid race, you should either find an existing subtype to match or make a new one by using the name of the race as the subtype. If you are making a halfbreed race, it should have the racial type of both parent races. For example, a half-elf has both the human and the elf subtypes. Subtypes are often important to qualify for other racial abilities and feats. If a humanoid has a racial subtype, it is considered a member of that race in the case of race prerequisites.

This passage from the race creation rules should make the FAQ unnecessary, as the rules already say as much.

As for your example, since Half-Elves are Humanoids with the "Elf" subtype, they qualify for character options, that have "Elf" as a prerequisite.

This also renders the "Elf Blood" racial trait of Half-Elves moot, since they have the "Human" and "Elf" subtypes and therefore already count as humans and elves for racial prerequisites; the trait now only matters when a Half-Elf changes creature type to something other than Humanoid (e.g. Outsider as a 20th-level Monk).