Mongoloid
The term Mongoloid race or Mongoloid sometimes referred to as "Sinoid" or "Mongolid", is most used in discussions of human prehistory, historical definitions of race and in the forensic analysis of human remains.
The suffix "-oid" indicates a similarity, not necessarily exact, to something else. Mongoloid, therefore, does not necessarily equate to earlier terms such as "Mongolian" or "Asiatic" — whatever the parameters for their definitions may be — and much less does it equate to the Mongolian nationality.
Racial classification, and even the existence of race, is controversial. The -oid racial terms are now often controversial in both technical and non-technical contexts and are likely to give offense no matter how they are used. [1]
Usage
"Mongoloid" loosely applies to physical traits and not to contemporary or historic definitions of racial or social groups. Some current terms for the latter are Asian, East Asian, Southeast Asian, and Oriental; however the range of Mongoloid does not correspond exactly to any one of these. In regards to "Asian", it can be said that North Asians, East Asians, and Southeast Asians are physically Mongoloid, however most South Asians are not, Central Asians tend to intermediate between Mongoloids and Caucasoids, and West Asians (Middle Easterners) are classified as Caucasoids.
Since people with Down syndrome have some superficially Mongoloid physical characteristics, the term "Mongol" was once also used as a synonym for retardation. It was also employed by some, primarily in John Langdon Down's Observations on the Ethnic Classification of Idiots (1866), as an alleged evolutionary degeneration when applied to Europeans. For these reasons, the usage of the term Mongoloid for racial purposes has acquired offensive connotations for some people. Due to this offensive use, the term Eastern Eurasian has been proposed as a euphemism for the term Mongoloid.
Geographic range
The Mongoloid classification has long been debated as to whom it includes, even today. There has been much debate over what constitutes a race.
As a form of classification by Carleton S. Coon (1904-1981), "Mongoloid" includes the indigenous peoples of North Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and some parts of Central Asia and South Asia. Most people from South Asia are usually classified as Caucasoid, while most of those from Central Asia as intermediate.
By extension, Mongoloid arguably includes Polynesians from the mid-Pacific Oceania, the indigenous peoples of the Americas, those of Greenland, some indigenous populations of Northern Europe (eg. the Sami of Finland) and some Eastern Europeans who are said to have Mongoloid admixture and whose cranial morphology (brachycephalicy, high zygomas, etc.) but not pigmentation (blondism, eye color, etc) more closely resemble those of Mongoloids than Caucasoids.
According to the Greek language Wikipedia, South Asians, specifically Indians and Sri Lankans are classified as a darker-skinned Mongoloids than the lighter skinned Northern Mongoloids.
Mongoloid peoples may be the most spread out among all human populations, according to Carleton S. Coon's defintion. They have stretched almost completely around the earth's surface as either aboriginals (the first to arrive in a given region) or as conquering migrants. They can be found as far "east" as Greenland, and yet also as far to the "west" as Kalmykia, the Crimea, and even Scandinavia, giving Asiatic peoples or their descendants a historical presence across the vast expanse of four continents. Their majority only increases if the Greek Wikipedia's definition is used.
Mongoloid variation
North Asians
The Northern Mongoloid peoples of North Asia. They have somewhat hairier bodies than other Mongoloid type, and their facial features are quite sharp.
Farther to the south and east of interior Asia, the northern and interior the Japanese, Koreans, northern Han Chinese, and Manchus also continue to inherit these other prototypical physical features. Other Northern Mongoloids include many smaller groups in Central Asia and the Arctic regions such as the Buryats, Chukchis, Tuvans, Nivkhs, Evenki, Yakuts, Siberian Inuit, Tibetans, and Mongolians.
The indigenous Ainu people of Japan are also grouped into the northern Mongoloids, however, they are an archaic type. Some of their characteristics are considered Caucasoid. In the early 20th century anthropologists debated on what typological classification the Ainu belonged to. The typological models of racial classification in use at that time have since undergone significant revision, in the light of developments in fields such as genetics.
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese are by far the most populous and heterogeneous Mongoloid "group". Indeed, the Han are often said to be the largest single group of any race, however, they are really not a truly coherent single ethnicity. The concept of a unified group of Han Chinese is more so a cultural anthropological concept rather than a biological anthropological one.
Studies have shown that the North Chinese are closer to Northern Mongoloids such as Koreans and Japanese, while the South Chinese are closer to their immediate Southern counterparts like the Tai and Vietnamese. Even these two classifications only touch the surface of the vast diversity within the Han Chinese ethnic group; for example, population samples from Shanghai and Jiangsu area share both Northern Mongoloid and Southern Mongoloid characteristics in addition to having genetically unique characteristics not found in other Han populations, suggesting integration of indigenous peoples unique to its location. [2] [3]
Central Asians
Although recent genetic studies suggest that humans ancestral in part to both today's Mongoloids and Caucasoids migrated to Central Asia from South Asia or the Middle East 40-50 thousand years ago, much of modern Central Asians' ancestry is thought to stem from later migrations from the west (such as the Tocharians and Indo-Iranians) and from the east (such as various Turkic peoples and the Mongols); migration from South Asia had less of an impact in this later period. See also History of Central Asia.
Excluding the effects of 19th and 20th century Russian and Han Chinese colonization, Mongoloid elements are strongest among the northern traditionally nomadic peoples such as the Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, and Mongols. The farming populations further south like the Uzbeks and Uyghurs show both northern Mongoloid and Mediterranean Caucasoid traits. There is no sharp distinction in appearance between the Uzbeks who speak a Turkic language and their close neighbors the Tajiks who speak an Iranian language; traditionally, mixture and bilingualism were very common, until boundaries based on linguistic nationalism were drawn in the 20th century. In general, Caucasoid traits increase away from the steppes and in mountains such as the Pamirs. However, the Hazara are a southern outlier of part-Mongoloids in the Hindu Kush mountains of central Afghanistan.
Southeast Asians
The peoples of the majority of continental Southeast Asia, specifically those who are located west of the Annamite Mountain range, including Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are considered Mongoloid according to the four-race theory [citation needed], however, they are genetically distinct from their neighbors to the north and may be considered a Southern Mongoloid race [citation needed].
The Southern Mongoloid is typically shorter-nosed, with quite hairless bodies, and tend to be slender. Starting with the southern Han Chinese of the southeastern coast, they are believed to be adapted to damper climates and allegedly mixed with Austronesian prototypes migrating to the Pacific Ocean.
In Southeast Asia, these Southern Mongoloids have assimilated, mixed in with, or replaced Australoids in some areas. Some Pacific Islanders or Polynesians may also be considered Mongoloids, although in this area of the world, Australoids and Mongoloids have hybridised considerably and the lines between the two "races" are blurred.
Although the Vietnamese, whom are located and originate to the northeast of the Annamite Mountain Range, are geographically labelled as "Southeast Asians", their ethnic and cultural heritage ties them to their immediate northern neighbours, the Southern Chinese and other tribes within the proximity of South China.
New World natives
The Indigenous Peoples of the Americas are believed to have entered the American continent from Asia between 35 to 25 thousand years ago. See Models of migration to the New World. The earlier known inhabitants of the continent are the Amerindians, and they are distinct from the subsequent migrations who would become the indigenous populations of Arctic North America (the various Alaskan and indigenous Arctic Canadian groups such as the Inuit, Innu, and Aleuts).
The indigenous groups of Arctic North America — including the Haida people of British Columbia on the northwest coast — can often resemble Central Asians and even Northern Asians (such as Koreans or Japanese), making them much closer to the Northern Mongoloid type than even Southeast Asians.
The Amerindians, however, are often considered a separate population pool to, or at most a distant division of, Mongoloids. The Amerindians branched off of archaic or proto-Mongoloids from Siberia and other parts of Northeast Asia, including the Ainu or such groups related to them (See Kennewick man). From that point in time, when they crossed over to North America and dispersed into Central and South America, they evolved independently for tens of thousands of years ago, not coming into contact with any Old World populations until the arrival of Europeans just over 500 years ago. This large time gap of separate isolated evolution resulted in certain distinct genetic and physical characteristics not found in Old World Mongoloids or the indigenous groups of Arctic North America.
The indigenous groups of Arctic North America are always clustered with Old World Mongoloids due to their recent arrival and their shared evolution.
Unrelated populations as "Mongoloid" in forensics
- Main article: Forensic classification of race
The Khoisan of southwestern Africa share some characteristics typical of Mongoloids, such as epicanthic folds but more importantly craniology. [citation needed] On the other hand, features such as skin and hair texture are markedly different and resemble other sub-Saharan African populations. They have been proven to be not any more genetically related to Mongoloids than they are to other non-Africans.
The Chleuh of southern Morocco are another African population who have been said to have some features reminiscent of Asians.
In forensic anthropology, however, remains are often classified into one of the three populations: Black, White, or Asian. In U.S. legal practice, these are respectively termed "Negroid," "Caucasoid," and "Mongoloid". Based on these parameters, populations genetically unrelated to Mongoloids, such as the Khoisan, are found to be "Mongoloid". [citation needed]
- See also: Craniofacial Anthropometry
Characteristic features
Physical characteristics typical of Mongoloids include oblique palpebral fissures that create almond-shaped eyes, also known as epicanthal folds. The presence of epicanthic folds is most prevalent in people of East Asian and Southeast Asian descent.
The overwhelming majority also exhibit the Mongolian spot, which is a natural smooth brown or blue-gray birthmark usually on the lower back and buttocks area of infants and is visible up to about age four. This feature, however, is not unique to Mongoloids, and may be found among European and African populations although at a much reduced frequency.
The vast majority of Mongoloids have straight black hair and dark brown eyes. Dark brown hair and lighter brown do occur, but less so. The occurrence of grey eyes and even blue eyes has been observed among a few Central Asians and Mongolians, however, this could be from a Caucasoid continuum. Curly hair is not uncommon in North China and Korea; and wavy hair occurs in any Mongoloid population. Skin pigmentation varies significantly. The skin's undertone is usually yellowish, but the actual pigmentation may go from very pale, to pale and light brown, medium brown, to dark brown and extremely dark.
Cranial morphology is typically brachycephalic (round-headed) with high-set zygoma (cheekbones). Faces are relatively broad and flat, while noses are typically small with low nasal bridges and minimal nasal projection. Body hair is scarce and sweat glands are also fewer. Nevertheless, mesocephalic craniology (intermediate between round and oval), somewhat higher nasal bridges, and greater facial and body hair may sometimes also occur.
Note that among the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, or more specifically, among Amerindians (ie. to the exclusion of the indigenous populations of Arctic North America), the occurrence of epicanthal folds is almost absent; skin pigmentations may also go from pale to light, medium, and dark brown, but the undertone is reddish; and larger often "hooked" noses, with high nasal bridges and great nasal projection are most common.
The "prototypic" Mongoloid features seem to have originated among those who originate from drier, arid, or colder inland or northern regions. Whereas tropical and damper weather along the Pacific coast or in the proximity of the Equator seems to have contributed to "softer" or smoother physical features, and significantly less body and facial hair. The same might also be argued for Africans.
Genetic history
According to a modern anthropological textbook The Human Species (2003), there only exists "continuous variation" of races and not "discrete units", but historically Mongoloid populations are considered to be a division of the Eurasian Supercluster, which comprises both Caucasoids (Western Eurasians) and Mongoloids (Eastern Eurasians). Historically it had been believed that the Mongoloids split from the Caucasoids, the Mongoloids themselves divided into the Northern (Northeast Asians) and Southern (Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders) Mongoloid groups. Historically it was believed the Amerindians are a group that branched off the Northern Mongoloid population before crossing into the New World.
Modern biological evidence from the anthropological textbook Human Species (2003) contradicts earlier theories of which groups were more genetically related to other groups. The Human Species(2003) and Physical Anthropology used the genetic clustering of Cavalli-Sforza (2000) in their publication. Humans are all related. Humanity divided itself into the African and the Eurasian/Oceanic branch. The Eurasian and Oceanic branches are the products of this common origin. The Eurasian branch split into the Amerindian and major East Asian branch. The major East Asian branch divided itself into eastern Russian and the East Asian. The Oceanic branch divided itself into the Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders. More interestingly, Asians have very local genetic clusters inside these regions, implying different Asian ethnic groups have not historically intermarried with each other. Examples of localized genetic clusters include Japan, Korea, Mongolia and China which form separate genetic clusters from each other.[1][2]
These various divisions of humanity have interbred throughout history and pre-history, making racial classification a more generalised form of taxonomy than an absolute one. According to the above reference: "There has never been a clear consensus on the actual number (of races), though".
Relation to race as a social construct and racial politics
The concept that East Asians, Southeast Asians, Pacific Islanders, Indigenous Americans and others identified as Mongoloids are the same race is accepted more in some parts of the world than in others. In East and Southeast Asia, it is more common to think of each nation as its own race or unique people, because of the relative homogeneity in most of these states. In fact, China and Indonesia are the only two states in the region to have blatantly heterogenous populations. Generally in less developed parts of the globe, racial definitions such as the Mongoloid race are more widely accepted, because of the low availability of contemporary scientific research.
See Asian people for discussion in more depth, as this issue is outside the scope of this article.
Footnotes
External links
- Asian Skulls This website discusses the variation in Asian skulls.
- The first modern East Asians? Another look at Upper Cave 101, Liujiang and Minatogawa
- Asian Genes This website discusses the genetic distance of different Asian groups.