Caucasian
Europide (borrowed from the Greek for " similar to the Europeans , in the manner of the Europeans"; English Caucasoid , Europid ) is a no longer in use racial collective term for the original inhabitants of Europe , North Africa , the Horn of Africa , fore and parts of central and South Asia as well as their descendants. The term Europide goes back to the race theorist Egon von Eickstedt and his student Hermann Peters. It also became popular through the publications of the Oxford biologist and anthropologist John R. Baker, but was in competition with the term "Caucasian race", which goes back to Johann Friedrich Blumenbach . Despite its origins in the racial theory of National Socialism , the term Europide was still used in anthropology until the 1980s .
The typological description names a face rich in relics , simple to curly hair and a narrow high nose as prominent characteristics , as well as a little pigmented skin in northern populations, due to which the Europids were and are also called white. The variety of eye and hair colors is unique . According to outdated racial theories, Europids belonged to the three fundamentally different great races alongside Mongolids and Negrids . In 1997, in contrast to the three rigid large races, seven large groups of mankind with flowing transitions were assumed, of which the Europeans are one group.
The allegedly homogeneous properties of the Europids in contrast to the other assumed "human races" has been clearly refuted in terms of molecular biology and population genetics. Each gene has its own geographical focus of distribution. In order to prove the existence of a breed, the main distribution areas of a large number of genes of a certain population would have to be largely congruent and distinguishable from other populations. However, there is no uniform geographic overlap for all Europeans (or Scandinavians, Eastern Europeans, Indians, etc.). The external differences between the so-called “Europids” and other “races” represent only a very small part of the genetic make-up that goes back to adaptation to different climates . The term europid therefore no longer has a scientific basis today.
Semantic area
The term europid is still used (variously) to classify the phylogenetic development of humans and in the forensic analysis of human remains. The suffix -id indicates “a similarity, not necessarily an exact equivalent, to something else”, so europid can extend to a wider or narrower range than the groups designated as europid.
The term caucasoid is also used to indicate an alleged original home of the Europids in the Caucasus . In the English-speaking countries, the corresponding terms white or caucasian are still used in official documents such as administrative forms or census records. However, the context is not justified biologically, but mostly refers to self-attributions such as in the race definition of the US Census .
In any case, the use of the designation today is only a heuristic tool in the sense of a “preliminary auxiliary thought”.
Caucasoid
Caucasian race (also Caucasoid ) is a collective name that roughly corresponds to the concept of the Europids . It goes back to the German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach . In his text Von der different Rassen der Menschen in 1795 he defined all fair-skinned people as Caucasians . In this sense, the term caucasian is still used today in English-speaking countries, especially the USA.
In the first edition of his Handbook of Natural History from 1779, Blumenbach distinguished five varieties (“Raçe”), which he only numbered. In the third revised edition of his dissertation De generis humani varietate nativa ( About the natural differences in the human sex ), published in 1795, he referred to them as Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, American and Malay varieties. Blumenbach characterized the Caucasian variety as follows:
“A) Caucasian variety.
Of white color, with red cheeks (§.43.), Blackish or nut-brown hair (§.52.), Rounded head (§.62.).
With an oval, more regular face, in which the individual parts are not too clearly marked, flat forehead, narrower, slightly curved nose, small mouth (§ 56).
With front teeth of the upper and lower jaw standing vertically under one another (§ 62).
With gently protruding lips (especially the lower lip), full round chin (§.56.)
In general, of that, in our terms of Ebenmaas, charming and beautiful face shape.
This first variety includes the Europeans (with the exception of the Lapps and other Finns), the western Asians as far as the Obi river, the Caspian Sea and the Ganges. Finally the inhabitants of northern Africa. "
Blumenbach saw the Caucasian variety as the most original, from which the others developed.
There are also historical terms such as "Mediterranean race" or "Indo-Atlantic race". In works of the later 19th century, the term “ great race ” is found, which is divided into Aryans or Indo-Europeans , Semites and Hamites . In the following, it was mainly used in US medicine to describe people from Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa and West and South Asia. In particular, the anthropologist Carleton Stevens Coon developed a theory according to which the "Caucasoids" represent their own subspecies ("race") of Homo sapiens , which, like four other "races", developed from independent geographic populations of homo erectus . This theory, which has now been proven to be false, nevertheless had a considerable influence on racial thinking in the USA at times. In the Anglo-Saxon countries, the corresponding terms white or caucasian are still used in official documents such as administrative forms, medical documentation or census records.
Anatomical and genetic characteristics
Molecular genetic studies confirm the genetic proximity of the European and the aforementioned Asian populations, but not the division of the species Homo sapiens into so-called “large races”.
Attempting to trace the origin and history of the Europids to genetic or other causes is problematic as the image is subject to constant change due to new evidence and interpretations. Recently, mtDNA put forward the thesis that Europeans and West Asians had distant roots in South Asia, which indicated a migration from South Asia to Central and West Asia and Europe 20-30,000 years ago. These South Asian ancestors, together with the so-called Mongolids, came from an earlier migration of people from Africa 50–70,000 years ago ( out-of-Africa theory ), from which either all non-Africans had originated, or they were the larger and more northern part of two main migrations.
The Europids were subdivided into various " small races" according to the racial system - which was in use until the middle of the 20th century - the delimitation of which is of course much more problematic than that of the three "large races". Despite the enormous amounts of data on various physical characteristics that were collected to determine race, the assessment always remained subjective, Eurocentric and so artificially constructed that the results corresponded to the previously formulated expectations.
The following classification was found in the 1978 guide to the anthropological exhibition at the Natural History Museum Vienna .
Nordide
Distribution: Scandinavia, North Germany, Baltic States, Netherlands, Finland, North Poland, England, Scotland, Ireland, North France, Belgium, South Germany, Austria.
Features: tall, slender; long, narrow head; tall, narrow face rich in relics; moderately receding, high forehead; medium-sized eyelid cleft; high, straight nose with close-fitting wings and pointed tip; thin lips; strong, clearly protruding chin; very fair skin; light blue to blue-gray eyes; light blonde to light brown, straight hair.
Eastern Europeans
Distribution: Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Poland, Finland, Baltic States, Eastern Germany, Southern Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria.
Characteristics: medium-sized, stocky; short, angular head; wide face; slightly protruding cheekbones; high, moderately receding forehead; small, often sloping eyelid fissures; slightly high, concave nose; medium wide lips; low, poorly defined chin; pale red skin; grey eyes; ash blonde to ash brown hair.
Lappid
Distribution: Northern Finland, Northern Sweden, Northern Norway, Northwest Russia.
Characteristics: stocky, short; short, round head; low, broad and angular face; slightly protruding cheekbones; slightly receding forehead; occasionally narrow and sloping eyelids; broad, blunt, slightly concave nose; moderately wide lips; low, often receding chin; slightly brownish skin; dark brown eyes; brown-black hair.
Alpinide
Distribution: Central Europe, Western Alps, Central France, Central Italy, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Upper Bavaria, Franconia.
Characteristics: medium-sized, rounded graceful; short, round head; low, round face; arched forehead; medium-sized eyelid cleft; medium high, short nose with a rounded tip; narrow to moderately broad lips; small, rounded chin; medium-light skin; Eyes and hair brown.
Dinarides
Distribution: Central and Southeast Europe, West Ukraine, Carpathian Arch, East Alps, South Germany.
Features: tall, slender, lean; short, high head; steep occiput; high face, too narrow towards the bottom; moderately receding forehead; medium-sized eyelid cleft; high, hook-shaped nose; thin lips; big, strong chin; medium-light skin; Eyes and hair brown.
Mediterranide
Distribution: Southern Italy, Southern Greece, Black Sea Coast, North Africa, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Southern France, Spain, Portugal.
Characteristics: medium to below medium size, full figured, graceful; medium length head; expansive occiput; oval, fine-boned face; steep to slightly receding forehead; medium-sized eyelid cleft; medium high, usually straight, narrow nose; moderately wide lips; small, strong chin; slightly brownish skin; Eyes and hair dark brown.
Orientalide
Distribution: Arabia, Mesopotamia, North Africa, Palestine, Syria, Iran.
Features: medium-sized, delicate; long head; high, oval face; moderately receding forehead; almond-shaped eyelid cleft; high, slightly curved nose; moderately wide lips; profiled chin; brownish skin; dark brown eyes; black, mostly curly hair.
Berberide
Distribution: North Africa.
Features: tall, slender; medium length head; expansive occiput; oval, fine-boned face; high, slightly receding forehead; medium-sized, wide eyelid gap; medium high, mostly straight nose; wide lips; small, strong chin; brownish skin; Eyes and hair dark brown.
Indide
Distribution: India.
Features: medium-sized, slim, graceful; long, narrow head; high, oval face; steep forehead; large, almond-shaped eyelid cleft; straight nose; moderately wide lips; moderately profiled chin; light brown skin; dark brown eyes; simple, black-brown hair.
Roma
Distribution: Europe.
Features: medium-sized, slim; medium long and medium broad head; medium height and medium width face; slightly receding forehead; large, almond-shaped eyelid cleft; straight, moderately broad nose; wide lips; light brown skin; dark brown eyes; simple, black-brown hair.
Weddide
Distribution: forest areas in front of India, park jungle Ceylon, outer zone behind India, Indonesia to Timor and Moluccas.
Features: short, graceful, stocky; long, narrow head; round, low face; high, steep forehead; large cleft eyelid; moderately broad, blunt nose; wide lips; rounded chin; medium brown skin; dark brown eyes; black, wavy hair.
Armenide
Distribution: Armenia, Iran, Eastern Mediterranean.
Characteristics: medium-sized, stocky, coarse; very short, broad and very high head; high, narrow, diamond-shaped face; broad, moderately high forehead; moderately wide eyelid cleft; bulbous nose; wide lips; low, clearly profiled chin; brownish skin, dark brown eyes; simple, black-brown hair.
Turanide
Distribution: southern West Turkestan, East Turkestan.
Features: medium-sized, slim; short, medium broad, high head; medium-high, oval face; rather high, steep forehead; narrow, slightly slit eyelid fissures; moderately high, straight or slightly convex nose; thin lips; small, strong chin; brownish skin; dark brown eyes; simple, brown-black hair.
literature
- Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza : Genes, Peoples and Languages. The biological foundations of our civilization. Carl Hanser Verlag, 1999
- John R. Baker: The races of mankind. German publishing company, 1976
- Bruce Baum: The rise and fall of the Caucasian race: a political history of racial identity. NYU Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8147-9892-6 .
- Norbert Klatt: "Klytia and the" beautiful Georgian woman "- a note on Blumenbach's racial typology" . In: Norbert Klatt: Small contributions to the Blumenbach research . Volume 1, Göttingen 2008, pp. 70-101, PDF .
Web links
- Article: Europiden ( Memento of December 24, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) in Meyers Lexikon Online
Individual evidence
- ↑ John R. Baker: Race. Oxford University Press, 1974, p. 204.
- ^ Bernard J. Freedman: Caucasian. In: British Medical Journal. Vol. 288, 1984. pp. 696-698.
- ↑ Peter Frost: Why Do Europeans Have So Many Hair and Eye Colors? Retrieved November 18, 2019.
- ↑ Marvin Harris: People. How we became what we are. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Munich 1997, p. 108.
- ^ The Schlaining Declaration: Against Racism, Violence and Discrimination (PDF), 1995, Section II: "On the obsolete nature of the term 'race'".
- ↑ Wulf Köpke: Why are white Europeans called Caucasians in the USA? Hamburger Abendblatt, August 15, 2014, accessed on November 18, 2019 .
- ^ Johann Friedrich Blumenbach: Handbook of natural history. With copper. Johann Christian Dieterich, Göttingen 1779, p. 63, (online) .
- ↑ On the natural differences in the human race . Translated from the third edition and the author's memoirs, and edited by Johann Gottfried Gruber with some additions and explanatory notes. Breitkopf and Härtel, Leipzig 1798, pp. 205–206.
- ↑ Norbert Klatt: "Klytia and the" beautiful Georgian woman "- a note on Blumenbach's racial typology" . 2008, pp. 71-73.
- ↑ Description in Brockhaus 1911
- ^ Carleton S. Coon: The Orgins of Race . Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1st edition 1962, ISBN 0-394-30142-0 .
- ↑ Lexikon der Biologie , Volume 9, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 3-8274-0334-0 , pp. 170–177 (article: Menschenrassen)
- ↑ Lexicon of Biology , Volume 5, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg 2000, ISBN 3-8274-0330-8 , pp. 267-268 (Article: Europide)
- ↑ Ulrich Kattmann : Why and with what effect do scientists classify people? In: Heidrun Kaupen-Haas, Christian Saller (ed.): Scientific racism: Analyzes of continuity in the human and natural sciences. Campus, Frankfurt a. M. 1999, ISBN 3-593-36228-7 , pp. 65-83.
- ↑ Oliver Trey: The development of race theories in the 19th century: Gobineau and his essai " The inequality of the human races ". disserta, Hamburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-95425-684-6 . Pp. 13, 28-29, 43.
- ^ Johann Szilvassy, Georg Kentner: Anthropology. Evolution of man races of man. Natural History Museum, Vienna 1978, online version . 120-122.