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Post by Atlantid on Oct 15, 2012 14:16:44 GMT -5
An extract from biologist John Baker's book Race (Oxford University Press, 1974):
“The Aethiopids (‘Eastern Hamites’ or ‘Erythriotes’) of Ethiopia and Somaliland are an essentially Europid subrace with some Negrid admixture. Typically these are slender people of medium stature, dolicho- or mesocranial; the face is more or less of the Europid form, with rather narrow, prominent nose; there is no prognathism (Fig. 30B, p. 230). Various parts of the body give evidence, however, of Negrid influence. The skin is reddish- or blackish-brown. The dark brown or black scalp-hair is neither long, like that of most Europids, nor very short, as in Negrids. It is variable in texture in different local forms, but as a rule it is not wavy, like that of typical Europids, nor wound into many tight spirals (what the French call ‘cheveux crépus’) like that of Negrids, but of the intermediate condition described as ‘frizzy’ (‘cheveux frisés’), in which each hair curls into several ringlets, the spiral having a diameter of 1 cm or more.” (pp. 225-226)
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Post by Noah on Oct 15, 2012 16:58:11 GMT -5
Almost didn't recognize you there atlantid... Here's what Murdock wrote on the Somalis and Afars/Danakils. It's quite similar to what Baker, Coon and most other authorities traditionally asserted: "The Afar and Somali divisions of the Horn peoples speak related languages of the Eastern branch of the Cushitic subfamily of the Hamitic stock. All except a few Christian Saho adhere to the Sunni sect of Islam. All, moreover, are definitely Caucasoid and have received a substantial infusion of Arab blood. The Afar are characterized by moderately tall stature, wavy hair, narrow noses, thin lips, and a skin color of coffee shade. The Somali are darker than other Eastern Cushitic peoples but otherwise reveal fewer evidences of Negroid admixture; kinky hair, for example, is almost completely absent. Though they have unquestionably incorporated a certain amount of Negro blood through intermarriage with imported slaves and with their Bantu subjects in the valleys of the Shebelle and Juba Rivers, their dark complexion possibly derives mainly from some other source, conceivably in part from Indians who may at some time have been involved in trade with the ports on the Gulf of Aden." The term "Hamite" itself by definition refers to an Afro-Asiatic-speaking inhabitant of Africa of predominant Caucasoid descent, typically possessing varying degrees of secondary Sub-Saharan admixture (Khoisanoid and/or Negroid). Linguistic, craniometric, uniparental DNA and genome-wide studies have all shown that this definition applies to both Horners and North Africans. Resistance to the idea that dark-skinned peoples like Horners might be closely linked to the original Hamitic type is, I believe, born of a misunderstanding of the demographic makeup and caste systems within these communities. It also largely stems from unrealistic ideas as to who the Ancient Egyptians/proto-typical Hamites were. They were not of modern Southern European type, as is sometimes suggested on internet forums (neither are modern Egyptians, for that matter). As the bulk of their mural art clearly shows, most Ancient Egyptians were quite a bit darker than that. They consistently depicted themselves as reddish-brown, a color still common throughout Northeast Africa. The Ancient Egyptians also possessed certain distinguishing physical characteristics peculiar to peoples of Eastern Hamitic origin, such as very low bone mineral density and high rates of slow acetylation (they break down certain medications really slowly). In addition, the Ancient Egyptians asserted that they descended from the Land of Punt. Modern isotopic analysis of particular, mummified baboon specimens that were brought to Egypt from Punt has narrowed down this ancient territory to the Horn region. That's basically where the idea that the Afro-Asiatic-speaking Horners and most North Africans are of Hamitic origin comes from.
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Post by Noah on Oct 15, 2012 17:06:03 GMT -5
I should add that there's a strain in certain Berber mountain tribes that is more closely associated with the Basques and a few other northwestern European populations. For instance, they possess high rates of Rh negative blood, white skin and blonde hair and are skeletally robust, while most North Africans are Rh positive, brown-skinned and dark-haired, with relatively gracile physiques. This minority element descends primarily from the Iberomaurusians as opposed to the Capsians, the latter of whom are the common ancestors of all the Hamitic peoples. More on this, from Gunter Brauer: "There is a third African major race: the Mediterranean. The populations living on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and in parts of East Africa are classified as Mediterranean or Afro-Mediterranean because of their relatively homogeneous Europid characteristics. Due to various admixtures with neighbouring Negrid populations in prehistoric and historic times, the present populations of East Africa in particular are more or less heterogeneous in appearance, especially with regard to soft-tissue morphology[...]
The Mediterranean character is clearly dominant among the Ethiopids, who include the large populations of the Amhara, the Galla and the Somali. Their skeletal features are predominantly Europid; the nose is generally narrow and prominent. However, there are also Negrid admixtures of varying degrees among the individual tribes. The Negrid character is strongest among the Sidamos in South West Ethiopia, and at its weakest among the Somali (Cole 1965)[...]
The number of sites in Algeria and Morocco belonging to the Ibero-Maurusian culture is relatively large. Especially well-known is the mesolithic cemetary of Afalou-bou-Rhummel on the Algerian coast, where in 1928-30 remains of more than 40 adults and a number of children were excavated (Arambourg 1929; Arambourg et al. 1934; Vallois 1952). Likewise linked with the Ibero-Maurusian culture is the important skeletal series of more than 280 individuals found in the Taforalt cave (Morocco) in 1951-1953 (Ferembach 1962). A late Pleistocene layer of this site has been dated to about 10,000-12,000 B.P. (Roche 1959).
In Maghreb, however, there are also numerous settlements of the North African Capsian, which are linked with huge shell mounds. The most important site of this type is Mechta-el-Arbi, southwest of Constantine (Algeria), where in 1907-1927 remains of more than 30 individuals were found in a huge shell mound (Arambourg et al. 1934). As an indication of the dating, the absolute age of another shell mound associated with the same culture (Upper Capsian) may be of interest; it has been dated at about 8,400 + or - 400 B. P., the beginning of the Holocene (Ivanova 1972). The skeletons from Dar-es-Soltan near Rabat (Morocco) also are ascribed to the Mechta type (Vallois 1951; Ferembach 1976).
The morphological affinities of all of these samples are generally Europid, though there appears to have been differentiation into two morphotypes. One is represented by tall, robust individuals with large, long and high crania, broad faces with low, rectangular sloping orbitae and heavy rugged jaws with strong chins (Briggs 1955; Ferembach 1962). The other type comprises individuals with small faces and less rugged "leptodolichomorphic" characteristics. Although both combinations of characteristics do not generally occur separately, relating to the sites, there is some evidence of a tendency (Schwidetzky 1970) for the more robust type to be more numerous in Ibero-Maurusian sites, while the leptodolichomorphic form is more frequent in those of the Capsian, as shown by the East African men of the Kenya Capsian.
The modern populations, too, can be understood on the basis of this polarity of types. The Berber populations from the Maghreb and North West Africa tend to be more robust and broad-faced than the Arabian populations and other groups from the East.
The present Egyptians are closer to the pole of the small leptodolichomorphic Mediterranean populations (Schwidetzky 1970), as evidenced by the populations of Egypt since predynastic times, and have yielded some larger series. However, Egypt had been infiltrated by groups of various populations, especially in historical times.The increase of Negrid influence is due primarily to the Arabic slave-trade. Nevertheless, Negrid influences in ancient Egypt seem to have been much smaller than in Nubia (Strouhal 1975). The present southern Nubians are tall and lightly built, but the skin colour is darker; they are probably the product of hybridization between Europid Egyptians and Negroids."
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