The American Indian: Part 2

The American Indian: Part 2: Types Continued

Thomas Allen 

    A. C. Haddon (1925)  identifies six racial types of the American Indians. They are the Eskimo, Northwest Coast Amerind, Northern Amerind, Neo-Amerind, Tehuelche, Paleo-Amerind or Lagoa Santa type. A description of each type follows:

    1. Eskimo:[41] Skin color: brownish- or reddish-yellow. Head hair: black, straight, leiotrichy. Face: flat, very broad; prominent cheekbones. Eyes: black, straight; epicanthic fold occasionally occurs. Head shape: very dolichocephalic; some mesocephalic; very low; very high. Feet and Hands: relatively small hands and feet. Stature: short to medium.

    Eskimos range along the Arctic Coast from Greenland across Canada and Alaska into extreme northeast Asia.

    2. Northwest Coast Amerind:[42] Skin color: lighter than Northern Amerind. Head hair: lighter than Northern Amerind; frequently brownish; frequently slightly wavy; leiotrichy. Face: very broad; moderate height in north to great height in south. Nose: in north: concave or straight, rarely convex, of slight elevation; in south: very high, rather narrow, frequently convex. Head shape: brachycephalic. Body characteristics: short body; long arms. Stature: medium (below average in south; above average in north).

    Northwest Coast Amerinds are found along the northwest coast of North America from the northern border of Washington to 60̊ north latitude. The Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl are of this type.

    3. Northern Amerind:[43] Skin color: yellow-brown. Head hair: black; long; straight; leiotrichy. Nose: straight or aquiline. Head shape: dolichocephalic; mesocephalic with tendency toward brachycephalic. Stature: tall.

    Northern Amerinds are the Indians of the Plains and northern and eastern woodlands of North America. North Amerinds include the Cree, Ojibway (Chippewa), Sioux, Fox, Micmac, Huron, and Iroquois.

    4. Neo-Amerind:[44] Skin color: warm yellowish brown; cinnamon. Head hair: black; long; straight; leiotrichy. Nose: straight or concave; rarely aquiline. Head shape: brachycephalic. Stature: short to tall.

    Neo-Amerinds are the Indians of the North American plateau, Central America, and South America. Among the Neo-Amerinds are the Huaxteca, Totonac, Warrau, Arawak, Wapiana, and Carib.

    5. Tehuelche:[45] Skin color: brown, dark coppery. Head hair: black; long; straight; lank; leiotrichy. Head shape: brachycephalic. Statue: very tall.

    Tehuelche are found in Patagonia south of Rio Negro and in Tierra del Fuego. The Tehuelche and Pampeans of Patagonia are of this type. The Ona of Tierra del Fuego and the Borroro of Matto Grosso are also of the Tehuelche type.

    6. Paleo-Amrind:[46] Skin color: yellow, brownish, or reddish-yellow. Head hair: black; wavy or curly, smooth; leiotrichy. Face: prominent brow ridge; narrow fore-head; long face. Eyes: deep set. Nose: leptorrhine; sunk; narrow at root. Head shape: formerly very dolichocephalic, now mostly mesocephalic; hypsicephalic with high vault; small skull, archaic. Stature: short.

    Although Paleo-Americans ranged over a large area in the past, today they are found in only a few places in South America. In eastern Brazil they are found among the Tapuya, such as Botocudo (Aymoro or Buru). This type is also found in southern Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, the islands of western and southern Chile and the coast of Ecuador. Besides the Botocudo, the Yaghan and Alakaluf are also of this type.

    Remy Cottevieille-Giraudet (1928)[47] identifies five basic racial types of American Indians. They are H. s. atlanticus or Cro-Magnon, which corresponds to Deniker’s North American; H. s. asiaticus, which corresponds to Deniker’s Central American; H. s. oceanicus, which corresponds to Deniker’s South American or Lagoa Santa; H. s. australensis, an Australoid, which is nearly extinct; and H. s. hyperboreus or Eskimo.

    A description of each of the first three subspecies follows:

    H. s. atlanticus: “Very tall dolichocephals with short, extremely wide face, protruding cheekbones, prominent and leptorrhine nose, well-defined chin, stiff black hair, normal eyes, dark reddish skin.”[48]

    H. s. asiaticus: “Short stature, brachycephals, with euryene, flat and rounded face, prominent cheekbones, wide flattened nose, stiff dark hair, eye with epicanthic fold, yellowish skin.”[49]

    H. s. oceanicus: “Hyperdolichocephals of medium height, with small skull, short and wide face pyramidal in appearance; mesorrhine nose, sometimes concave; wavy hair; brownish skin.”[50]

    J. Imbelloni (1943) provides one of the most extensive classifications. He identifies eleven racial types of American Indians. They are as follows:

    1. Subartids (Eickstedt's Eskimids, Sergi’s Hesperanthropus Columbii eskimensis,  Biasulti's H. sapiens neo-arcticus, Brinton’s Arctic Group, Deniker’s Eskimo, Haddon’s Eskimo): Skin color: yellowish-brown. Head hair: black, coarse and stiff. Face: pentagonoid; broad; extreme development of the jaws and cheekbones. Eyes: epicanthic fold present in a large percentage. Nose: rather prominent. Head shape: mostly dolichocephalic although there are meso- and even brachycephalic occur in Alaska; keel-shaped. Body characteristics: plump and sturdy; arms and legs relatively short; the Mongolian or sacral spot is frequently present. Feet and hands: small. Statue: medium.

    “They inhabit the Arctic coast from northeast Asia to Greenland.”[52]

    2. Columbids (Eickstedt's Pacijids, Biasutti's Aleutian race, Briton’s Northern Pacific Group, Deniker’s Pacific North American, Haddon’s Northwest Coast Amerind):[53] Skin color: light. Facial hair: sparse. Head shape:  very brachycephalic. Body characteristics: the trunk is short and compact; very long arms and short legs. Stature: tall or medium.

    “They occupy the North American northwest on the Pacific coast from Alaska to the Columbia River.”[54]

    3. Planids (Eickstedt's Sylvids; Sergi’s  H.c. planitiae, Biasutti's Dakota race, Brinton’s North Atlantic Group, Deniker’s Atlantic North American, Haddon’s Northern Amerind):[55] Skin color: reddish-brown skin, rather light. Head hair: dark. Face: high cheekbones; extreme physiognomic sexual dimorphism. Eyes: dark iris. Nose: long and aquiline. Chin: square, heavy, protruding. Head shape: mesocephalic. Stature: tall.

    “They inhabit the region in North America from Alaska to the Atlantic bounded on the north by the Arctic zone and on the south by the Rocky Mountains and Alleghenies, penetrating deeply into the Mississippi basin.”[56]

    4. Sonorids (Eickstedt's Margids, Biasutti's Sonorid race, Sergi's H.c. sonorae, Brinton’s North Pacific and Mexico Groups, Deniker’s Pacific North American and Atlantic North American): Skin color:  much darker than Planids, with reddish highlights. Face: narrow receding forehead; face with rounded contours. Head shape: mesocephalic; small head. Body characteristics: macroskelia. Statue: rather tall.

    “They occupy the Pacific Coast south of the Columbia River, that is, the States of Oregon and California and also the State of Sonora (Mexico), west of the occidental Sierra Madre."[57]

    5. Pueblo-Andids (Eickstedt's Andids, Sergi's H.c. andinus, Biasutti's Pueblo-andid race, Brinton’s North Pacific and Mexican Groups [Pueblo] and South Pacific Group [Andids], Deniker’s Pacific North American [Pueblo] and South American [Andids], Haddon’s Neo-Amerind):[58] Skin color: variable with dark pigmentation predominating. Head hair: straight, coarse; black. Body hair:  sparse. Face: short face; large bizygomatic diameter. Nose: broad base but prominent bridge. Head shape: meso- and brachycephalic; small head without platycephaly. Body characteristics: extremely developed trunk in relation to the extremities. Stature: short.

    “They are found in two areas; the so-called Pueblo Indians live to the north in the basins of the Grande, Colorado, and part of the Gila and Salado Rivers (Arizona, New Mexico). In the south they inhabit the Andean highlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, northern Chile and Argentina. These are called the Andids.”[59]

    6. Isthmids (Eickstedt's Centralids, Biasutti's Pueblo-andid race, subrace Isthmid, Brinton’s Inter Isthmus Group, Deniker’s Central American, Haddon’s Neo-American):[60] Head hair: black; straight, coarse. Face: broad and short. Eyes: black, extremely pigmented iris. Nose: wide at the base and platyrrhine. Head shape: brachycephalic. Chin: receding. Body characteristics: brachyskelic. Statue: short.

    “They inhabit the south of Mexico and extend as far as Colombia, although the limits in this zone are rather uncertain.”[61]

    7. Amazonids (Eickstedt's Brasilids, Sergi's H.c. amazonicus, Biasutti's Amazonid race, Brinton’s South Atlantic Group, Deniker’s South American, Haddon’s Neo-Amerind):[62] Skin color: varying skin tones with a yellow base. Head shape: dolichoids tending to bracycephaly. Body characteristics: robust body; long strong arms and relatively weak and short legs. Statue: medium or short.

    “They occupy a very broad zone from west to east that extends from the Andes to the Atlantic, including the Amazon and Orinoco basins, infiltrating to the south by way of the Paraguay River to the Rio de la Plata.”[63]

    8. Pampids (Eickstedt's Patagonids, Sergi's H.c. patagonicus,  Biasutti's Pampid race, Brinton’s South Atlantic Group, Deniker’s Pampeans, Haddon’s Tehulche):[64] Skin color: intense skin pigmentation with reddish tones. Head hair: straight, coarse. Face: long face; heavy protruding cheekbones. Nose: leptorrhine. Chin: heavy and pronounced. Head shape: brachycephalic in the case of deformed skulls while the Onas and also the inhabitants of the Chaco are dolichocephalic; the skull is large and very thick. Body characteristics: robust skeleton, at times enormous but harmonious in proportions. Statue: tall and even very tall.

    “They are localized in a zone of the Matto-Grosso, Brazil, the central plains of Argentina including the ‘banda oriental or eastern belt,’ and the southern steppes as far as Tierra del Fuego.”[65]

    9. Laguids (Eickstedt's Lagids Biasutti’s Lagid, Brinton’s South American Group, Deniker’s South American):[66] Face: wide, low face. Nose: platyrrhine. Head shape: markedly dolichocephalic; high cranial vault, hypsicephalic. Body characteristics: the shoulders, chest, arms and legs more developed and muscular than in the Amazonids; sexual dimorphism quite marked. Statue: short.

    “They inhabit the eastern highlands of Brazil, besides certain isolated nuclei in the southernmost part of the California Peninsula, ancient burials in Coahuila (Mexico), various shell mounds along the Chilean coast, etc.”[67]

    10. Fueguids (Eickstedt's Lagids, Biasutti’s Magallanic or Fueguid race, Brinton’s South Atlantic and South Pacific Groups, Deniker’s Paleo-American, Haddon’d Paleo-Amerind):[68] Face: narrow forehead, long face; well developed brow-ridges. Nose: leptorrhine. Head shape: dolichocephalic; platycephalic. Body characteristics: under-developed legs. Statue: short.

    “The area of dissemination is discontinuous as occurred with the Pueblo-Andids. Their principal focus is in Tierra del Fuego, but they have also been found on the Chilean coast, in shell mounds of Valdivia, Talcahuano, Coquimbo; among the Piaroa, Goajiro and Motilon Indians of Colombia; in northern California; among the Botocudos of the Atlantic Coast and the extinct Sambaquis.”[69]

    11. Appalachids (Eickstedt’s Sylvids, Biasutti’s Alleganys or Appalachids, Brinton’s North Atlantic, Deniker’s North American, Haddon’s Northern Amerind) are the Huron-Iroquois. Comas does not provide Imbelloni’s description. A compilation of various sources yields the following description: Face: high protruding forehead; low, broad orbits; prominent cheekbones; short extremely wide face. Nose: medium narrow; generally aquiline. Chin: pronounced. Head shape: dolichocephalic; pentagonoid skull. Statue: tall.

    They inhabit the region from Newfoundland to South Carolina in the east and Louisiana and Mississippi in the west and from the Atlantic to east Illinois and Louisiana in the west.[70]

    Carleton S. Coon (1965) like Brinton sees uniformity among the American Indians. He identifies two racial types: Eskimos and Aleuts and all the other Indians. Eskimos and Aleuts are Siberian Mongoloids. The remainder are Mongoloids who descended from a small band that crossed the Bearing Straight toward the end of the Wisconsin glaciation.[71]

Endnotes ‒ Continued
41. A.C. Haddon, The Races of Man and Their Distribution (New York, New York: The Macmillian Company, 1925), p. 31.

42. Ibid., p. 36.

43. Ibid., pp. 32-33.

44. Ibid., p. 35.

45. Ibid., pp. 35-36, 145.

46. Ibid., p. 24.

47. Juan Comas, Manual of Physical Anthropology, Revised and enlarged English edition (Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas • Publisher, 1960).  pp. 634-635.

48. Ibid., p. 634.

49. Ibid.

50. Ibid., p. 635.

51. Ibid., pp. 637-638.

52. Ibid., p. 637.

53. Ibid., p. 639.

54. Ibid.

55. Ibid.

56. Ibid.

57. Ibid.

58. Ibid., p. 640.

59. Ibid., pp. 639-640.

60. Ibid., p. 640.

61. Ibid.

62. Ibid.

63. Ibid.

64. Ibid., pp. 640-641.

65. Ibid., p. 640.

66. Ibid., p. 643.

67. Ibid.

68. Ibid.

69. Ibid.

70. Ibid.

71. Carleton S. Coon, and Edward E. Hunt, Jr., The Living Races of Man (New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1965), pp.152-154.


Copyright © 2010 by Thomas Coley Allen.

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