[Visigodo]

The North-Atlantid subrace.



I would like to give some information regarding the lately controversial anthropological question about if the North-Atlantid type exists or if it is a proper name to denominate a morphological type that can be found in some areas of North-Western Europe.

To start with this question we should come back to Bertil Lundman who was one of the anthropologists who differentiate from the Northern morphological types the so called by him North-Atlantid race.

In this work The Races of Europe we have the following information:

A. Atlantid Northwestern Low-Skulled Racial Group (Always With Low Frequencies of Blood Type Gene q).
I. Long-Skulled (Dolichocephalic).
a. Palaeo-Atlantid Race: somewhat protomorphic, broad-nosed, very broad-faced, tall and robust, light-mixed in pigmentation. Low in the frequency of blood type gene p and high in blood type gene r.
b. Nordid Race: virile, more progressive, lighter in pigmentation. Three subraces: the broader-faced, more robust Faelish (Faelo-Nordid) subrace, the narrower-faced, more slender Scando-Nordid subrace, and the North-Atlantid subrace which is morphologically similar to the Scando-Nordid. The first two subraces are rather light-haired, while the North-Atlantid subrace is more dark-haired but at the same time light-eyed. The North-Atlantid subrace also has a higher frequency of blood type gene r and a lower frequency of p than the other two subraces.

Let us begin with Northwestern Europe. Here we encounter the Nordid race or the North-race (the Nordic race of Deniker). The Nordid race is light-eyed, mostly rather light-haired, low-skulled and long-skulled (dolichocephalic), tall and slender, with more or less narrow face and narrow nose, and low frequency of blood type gene q (See Figure 1). The Nordid race has several subraces. The most divergent is the Faelish subrace in western Germany and also in the interior of southwestern Norway. The Faelish subrace is broader of face and form (See Figure 2). So is the North-Atlantid subrace (the North-Occidental race of Deniker), which is like the primary type, but has much darker hair. Above all in the oceanic parts of Great Britain the North-Atlantid subrace is also very high in blood type gene r and low in blood type gene p. The major type with distribution particularly in Scandinavia is here termed the Scandid or Scando-Nordid subrace.

Regarding the distribution of this type in the British Isles:

The British Isles are more Nordid in race in the eastern regions. This is to be expected from the history of settlement of these lands. In parts of the counties of York and Lincoln and in the lowlands of Scotland, the population is just as pronouncedly Nordid in race as in Sweden or Friesland. The poorer parts of Scotland and almost all Ireland become always more North-Atlantid in race toward the west. There are also local survivals of the Palaeo-Atlantid proto-stock. We find Mediterranean strains in the south of Wales, in some heath-regions of southwestern England, and in a few bogregions in the interior of Ireland. In earlier times marsh regions were more extensive in these parts of Ireland. Nowadays a higher frequency of blood type gene q is found in these areas of Ireland, which may perhaps be correlated with the Mediterranean racial strain.

Not much more information is possible to get even looking at some other of his works but I will add what I have found:

In den dortigen Heidegebieten und im grössten Teil Irlands überwiegt jedoch die nordatlantide Rasse, die sich eigentlich nur durch dunkles (und verhältnismäsig oft auch rotes) Haar (und eine ziemlich verschiedene Blut-gruppenverteilung) von der vorigen untersscheidet.

Stammeskunde der Völker. 1961.

Die Britischen Inseln sind, wie man aus ihrer Geschichte erwaten kann, im O. nordider, ja in Teilen der Grafschaft York un Lincoln un in Teilen von Nieder-Schottland fast ebenso wie in Schweden oder Friesland. Die ärmeren Teile von Schottland un fast ganz Irland sind mehr nordatlantid. Auf dieses Insel sin die Grafschaften Wexford un Waterford nordider., während die Moorgegenden des NW. Paläo-atlantide Einmischungen besitzen. SW- England und noch mehr S.-Wales haben mediterrane Einschläge.

UMRISS DER RASSENKUNDE. 1952

Die Britischen Inseln sind, wie man aus ihrer Geschishte erwarten kann, im Osten Nordider, ja in Teilen der Grafschaften York un Lincoln un von Nieder-Schottland fast ebenso ausgeprägt wie in Scweden oder Friesland. Die ärmeren Teile von Schottland und fast ganz Ireland warden nach dem Westen him immer merh nordatlantid mit begrenztem Fortleben auch des paläoatlantiden Urstocks. Mediterrane Einschäge zeigen v.a. der Süden von Wales, auch ein paar Moor Gebiete im inneren Irland (wo früher Sumpferz gehoben wurde und auch mehr q vorkommt! Zusammenhang?) und einige Heidegebiete SW-Englands.

Island besitzt sehr starke nordantlantische Einschläge.

Geographische Anthropologie. Rassen und Völker der Erde. 1967.

Maps (From DALLA-ALLMOGENS ANTROPOLOGI. Bertil Lundman. 1945):




Unfortunately he did not give any textbook example and from here is probably from where are coming many mistakes regarding how this type look.

In another hand he clearly pointed out that his North-Atlantid race is Deniker’s Race Occidental.

So we can start looking at what information we can get from Deniker but first we must include his definition of the Atlanto-Mediterranean type as he believed that the North-Western type is a branch of the Atlanto-Mediterranean race contrary to Lundman who include such type among the Northern spectrum:

Dark, mesocephalic, tall race, Litttoral or Atlanto-Mediterranean race, so styled because it is found I a pure or mixed state along the shores of the Mediterranean from Gibraltar to the mouth of the Tiber, and on several points of the Atlantic coast, from the straits of Gibraltar to the mouth of the Guadalquivir, on the Bay of Biscay, in the lower valley of the Loire, etc. It is not met with anywhere at a greater distance than 120 or 150 miles from the sea. This Littoral race is still little studied; it is distinguished by its moderate dolicocephaly or mesocephaly (ceph. Ind. on living subject 79 to 80), by its stature above the average (1m 66), and very deep colouring of the hair and eyes. It correspond pretty well with the “Mediterranean race” of Houzé, and with the Cromagnon race of certain authors.
It is probably with this Littoral race that we must connect a secondary race so-called North-Western race, tall sub-dolichocephalic with chesnut hair, often almost brown. It is found chiefly in the north-west of Ireland, in Wales, and the east of Belgium.

Map:



Nordid/North-Western type:



North-Western examples:





I remember that was Exeter who remarked the similitude that the description of Hooton’s Keltic and Lundman’s North-Atlantid have and from where I realize that Lundman’s North-Atlantid type could be a more or less a similar type as the one described by Hooton as “Keltic”. After reading the work “THE PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF IRELAND” of Hooton and Dupertius (1953) I started to think that both typologies are describing more or less the same human type. Probably in Lundman’s North-Atlantid category it is possible to include what Hooton called the “Nordic Mediterranean” type as this type is also dark haired with light eyes (but more pigmented that his Keltic), dolychoco-mesocephalic etc.

It was not only Exeter who realize the similitude but also anthropologists as Giot. For example he said:

Il est à noter que dans les régions où l’on peut estimer que ce type « mégalithique » (A-M) sinon domine, du moins est très largement présent, la majorité de la population a cependant les yeux clairs, et en particulier bien des sujets par ailleurs tout à fait caractérisés. On pourrait parler alors du type Nord-occidental de J. Deniker, ou « Keltic » de E. A. Hooton. Mais nous pensons que tout cela n’est qu’une décoloration des « Mégalithiques » par un phénomène ressemblant à celui que affecte presque toutes les races dans les pays septentrionaux.

It should be noted that in the areas where one can estimate that this “megalithic” type (AM) if not dominates, at least is very largely present, the majority of the population has light eyes however, and in particular in many subjects in addition completely characterized. One could speak then about the North-Western type of J. Deniker, or the “Keltic” of E.A. Hooton. But we think that all is only just a discoloration of the “Megalithics” by a phenomenon resembling the one which affects almost all the races in the Northern countries.


Armoircains et Bretons. Etude anthropologique. P.R. Giot. 1951.

The North-Atlantid subrace has as a very characteristic feature and this is his disharmonic (light eyes/dark hair) pigmentation. Something that have been pointed out by several anthropologists. For example:

In Ireland:

The frequency of light eyes and dark hair, the two often combined, is the leading characteristic of the population as a whole. Blonds are most numerous on and near the eastern coast and brunets towards the west. The skull inclines to be long, low and narrow, average C.I. 75, check-bones prominent, but the zygomatic arches are not much expanded, average stature tall, 1.703 m. Perhaps it will not be far wrong if one assumes that the composition of the population is analogous to that of western Britain.

THE RACES OF MAN. A.C. HADDON. 1929.

This detail was also pointed out by Don Brothwell in his work “Evidence of Population Change and Variability in the British Isles regarding Ireland:

“The Central East Coast: The shortes (comparing with the Western Peninsulas: West Donegal, Mayo and Kerry –including parts of Clare and Cork-): The shortest and most dolichocephalic region with highest concentration of light eyes (especially blue eyes), but very dark hair. Perhaps this may be the area settled by the Megalithic people who sailed up the Irish Chanel”.

Even Coon was aware of such disharmonic combination:

“In the western half of the blond nucleus, and especially in its British periphery, there is an asymmetry of linkage, for in Ireland, for example, a world’s extreme ratio of light eyes is associated with hair which is often brown or dark brown.”



Keeping in mind the words of Giot who has said that Hooton Keltic type can be considered Deniker’s North-Western and Lundman himself has said that Deniker’s North-Western is his North-Atlantid subrace let’s see how Hooton described the type:

Keltic subrace.

(Light-eyed, dark or red-haired long-heads)
Sorting criteria:
a. Hair color: dark brown, medium brown, red, rarely black
b. Eye color: blue, gray, or pale mixed
c. Head form: cephalic index less than 80, average about 76
Other characters:
d. Skin color: pale white, sometimes ruddy, often freckled
e. Face form: very long, narrow; compressed malars, long integumental upper lip, deep chin
f. Nose form: very long, high narrow; leptorrhine; thin long tip, compressed alae; tip sometimes depressed, sometimes snubbed; profile straight, convex, or undulating
g. Hair form: usually wavy or curly, sometimes straight
h. Stature tall: averaging more than 172 cm.
i. Body build: slender, very long arms and legs, short trunk
Distribution: Concentrated in Ireland; common in Scottish Highlands and Wales; sporadic in England, Brittany, and other parts of western Europe.

Earnest Albert Hooton, Up From The Ape, p. 577, Revised Edition, The Macmillan Company, 1958

The Keltics. The Keltic subrace is apparently the result of a mutation or mutations in the basic, long-headed brunet stock that affect eye color, reducing it from brown to blue, gray, or pale mixed. The same genetic changes usually lighten skin color to pale white, or even ruddy, and sometimes modify hair color from black or dark brown to medium brown, red-brown or red. Not long ago the association of fairly dark hair with blue eyes in this type was considered to have resulted from intermixture of a brunet White stock with the blond, Nordic subrace. This theory is not untenable, because the Harvard anthropometric survey of Ireland, where the Keltic subrace is at present concentrated, clearly indicates that there never could have been any such high proportion of blond Nordics in this area as would account for the tremendous segment of the population in which pure blue eyes or gray eyes are associated with dark hair. In a series of 9.521 adult Irish males, representing an adequate geographical sampling of the country, there were no less than 25.3 % belonging to this Keltic subrace, and no more than 5 % of them red-headed. As a matter of fact, red hair in Ireland is not nearly so common as is generally supposed (less than 5 %). On the other hand, 47 % of our Irish series has pure light eyes, and all but 5 per cent of these are blue. Light hair, ranging from light brown to golden blond, occurs in only about 15 per cent of these Irish as against 49 per cent of dark brown, 35 per cent of medium brown, and about 5 per cent of red brown. Mixed eyes occur in the blonds and near-blonds as often or oftener than in the brunets. The commonest effect of crossing blond, blue-eyed stocks with dark-haired, brown-eyed stocks is to produce types of intermediate pigmentation of both hair and eyes, with occasional segregation of pure blonds and pure brunets. Dark hair and blue eyes rarely result from such crossing, since some sort of broken linkage would have to occur, in all probability, to produce such a disharmonic combination. We must, then, regard the blue eyes of the Keltic subrace as the result of a mutation rather than a hybridization phenomenon. The combination of dark hair and blue eyes is so uncommon outside of the British Isles and Normandy (the former strongholds of Keltic speech) that one is almost inclined to think that the mutation took place in northwestern Europe at a relatively recent time.
There is little doubt in my mind that the term Keltic, applied to this subrace, is a sad misnomer. It is true that the type is concentrated in Keltic areas, but the anthropometric evidence in Ireland strongly indicates that the Keltic subrace was not the original carrier of Keltic speech. Furthermore, it is today far poorer in Keltic speakers than other subracial types of Ireland. Keltic speech was introduced, in all probability, by Bronze Age invaders, not earlier than 1500 to 1800 B.C. The Keltic subrace probably came in the Neolithic period, as early as 2200 or 2000 B.C. They may have been the builders of the Megalithic monuments-great, rough stone tombs and other structures. It is commonly assumed that these Neolithic immigrants came by sea, from Spain or the western Mediterranean.
In a series of 9,168 United States males, the Keltic subrace constituted about 8.5 per cent, ranking fifth among the subracial types established by sorting criteria. The Keltic type is strongly represented among the native parentage, and, among the native born of foreign parentage and the foreign born, seems to have been derived primarily from Irish stock, but also from Scotch, Welsh, English, and Scandinavians.


Earnest Albert Hooton, Up From The Ape.

From THE PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF IRELAND. By Earnest A. Hooton and C. Wesley Dupertuis. 1955.

The sorting criteria for establishing “morphological types” were set up in about 1930 by the senior autor with the help of Dr. Carleton S. Coon. They were devised particularly for dividing up American criminals, then being studied, into subracial or ethnic types.
The conventional primary criteria used for dividing up the white race are hair color, eye color, and head form (notably as expressed by the length-breadth or cephalic index). Sometimes stature and the nasal index are used as secondary criteria.
Not wishing to overstress the importance of the threadbare cephalic index, we decided to split it two ways- 80 and above, and 79 and below. Thus all of our Irish were divided into those whose heads were more or less round and those who were more or less long-headed. Individuals whose length-breadth index was on the brachycephalic side were invariably put into a different category from those who fell into a different category from those who fell into the other division of head form, but the subcategory to which they were assigned depended upon the associated pigmental criteria.

The term “Keltic” was applied to long heads with a combination of blue eyes and darkish hair or red hair. There is perhaps no set and conventional designation for this combination, but it is so common in those parts of Northwestern Europe where Keltic languages are spoken that it seemed a fairly appropriate name. As will be seen in later discussions, it turns out to be linguistic misnomer. However, the physical type thus crudely defined is a reality and nothing hypothetical.

All of the darkish and pigmentally mixed dolichocephals were put in the “Nordic Mediterranean” class with the occasional use of a different secondary criterion based on stature. Long heads with red hair and mixed eyes with statures above 170 cm. were assigned to “Predominantly Nordic” but if stature fell bellow 170, the were assigned to “Nordic Mediterranean”. The assumption is that long-heads who are obviously a mixture of blond and brunet strains may reasonably be called “Nordic Mediterranean” or “Predominantly Nordic” according to the weight of the pigmental features and the supposed difference in stature between “Nordics” and “Mediterraneans”.

I will include not only the details of sorting criteria of the Keltic type but also the the Nordic Mediterranean as I tend to think that some of them can be included in Lundman’s North-Atlantid and Deniker’s North-Western types.

Details of Sorting Criteria.

Keltic.-

Dark hair and blue eyes, cephalic index under 80, tall statures.
Red hair and blue eyes, cephalic index under 80, tall statures.

Total 25,3% of total series.

Nordic Mediterranean.-

Dark hair and mixed eyes, cephalic index under 80, all statures.
Red hair and mixed eyes, cephalic index under 80, stature under 170 cm.
Red-brown hair and mixed eyes, cephalic index under 80.
Light brown hair and dark eyes, cephalic index under 80.

Total 28,95 % of total series.

Physical characteristics.

The Keltic type is the second oldest in Ireland -3,36 years above the mean age. The type is 0,60 pounds below mean Irish weight, but does not deviate significantly from average stature. The thoracic index in this type is significantly high, because the chest is deep relative to its width. It is exceeded in this index only by the small Pure Mediterranean group. Head circumference is markedly low since head breadth is meagre and head length, although large, fall below the of the numerically strong Nordic Mediterranean type. The cephalic index 76,59 is the minimum for Irish types. Head height is lower than that of any other type save only the Pure Mediterranean. The length-height index is next to the Irish minimum, while the breadth-height index is significantly high although exceeded by two Nordic types and the Nordic Mediterranean type. The forehead is very narrow and the fronto-parietal index high. The bizygomatic diameter is depressed, but significantly higher that the average values found in the Nordic types. The cephalo-facial index is higher that that of any other type save only the Nordic Mediterranean. The bigonial diameter is somewhat low and the fronto-gonial index is highest for Ireland. The gonial index is moderately elevated. The high facial index 91,1 is exceeded only by that of the Predominatly Nordic type. The upper face is particularly long. The upper facial index average demonstrates that this type has relatively the longest and narrowest upper face. Noses are a trifle long, probably in part an effect of advanced mean age and also they are a triffle broader that average. Thus the nasal index is also a little above average.
The Keltic type is very light-skinned, although exceeded in this respect by the three blond types. It falls below these types only in pronounced vascularity. The type is relatively low in freckling and also has fewer moles. All kinds of hair form occur, with low waves in the modal position. However, the Keltics present the strongest assemblage of straight-haired individuals to be found in any Irish type, save the Pure Nordic. Baldness and graying of head and beard are excessive in this type –doubtless because of the high average age. The modal hair color (46,9%) is flat brown, but a strong minority (39,7%) has dark brown hair, and red-haired contingent amounts to 5,7%. In darkness of hair pigmentation, this type is exceeded only by the small group of Pure Mediterraneans and by the large Nordic Mediterranean group.
All Keltics have pure blue or grey-blue eyes. Almost 54 per cent of Irish blue eyes belong to members of this Keltic type, although the type constitutes only 25,3% of the Irish type series. Irides with scalloped patterns reach their Irish maximum and clear irides are greatly in excess. External eyefolds are slightly more that ordinarily common in this type. Upward slant of the eyes slits is more frequent in the Keltic type than in any other except the Pure Mediterranean. Variations from medium height of eye openings, when they occur at all, are low more that is ordinarily common, but these are not characteristics. This type has a higher percentage of persons with pronounced brow ridges that any other Irish morphological type. Foreheads incline toward the more slopig forms. Nasion depressions tend to be deep; straight nasal profiles slightly exceeded the convex form. Membranous lips are rather more than ordinarily thin. Teeth loss, wear, face shortening by tooth wear, and caries are at the maxima in these Keltics, but, reasonably, this condition must be attributed to the high mean age of the type. The Keltic type is average in frontal projection of the malars and is high in medium lateral projection. Gonial angles are infrequently prominent. Hollowness of the temporal region is a distinct feature as is also marked occipital protrusion. Altough lambdoid flatting occurs in nearly three-fourths of the Keltics, this feature is less common in the Keltic morphological type that in any other. Occipital flattening is relatively infrequent.

Nordic Mediterranean.

Physical characteristics.

The Nordic Mediterranean type is 0.60 years above mean age, ranking third. It is virtually at the all-Irish mean of weight, and, in fact, nearly average in most bodily dimensions.
The chest index is somewhat elevated, signifying a relatively deep and narrow thorax. However, the Keltic type exhibits this feature in a much more pronounced degree. The longest heads in Ireland are found in this Nordic Mediterranean type. Head breadth, though narrow, exceeds that of other doluchocephalic types, except the Pure Mediterraneans. Head height is superior to that of the Keltics and the Pure Mediterraneans. The length-height index is very low and the breadth-height index high, as in other long-headed types. Face breadth in this type is far inferior to that of the round-headed types, but higher that that of the other dolichocephals. The cephalo-facial index reaches its Irish maximum. Total face height is well above the Irish average, as is also the total facial index. Upper face height is also high. Naturally both total facial and upper facial indeces are on the high side and align this type with the other colichocephalic leptroposopic types and with the Dinaric type (which has been selected for long narrow noses). In the Nordic Mediterranean type the nose is about of average length, but a little more that ordinary wide. Hence the nasal index is somewhat above the Irish mean, but it is exactly the same as that of the Predominatly Nordic type and really differs very little from the mean nasal index of any other of the long-headed types.
Although skin color in the Nordic Mediterraneans is darker than in any other Irish type save the small Pure Mediterranean, yet 86.2 per cent of this type have pink skins. Pronounced vascularity is deficient; freckles are slightly less that ordinarily common. The modal hair form is low waved (as in every other Irish type). Hair color is much darker than in any other sizable type, with 4.7 percent of black hair and 52.4 per cent of dark brown. Nevertheless, more that one third of the type has medium brow hair. All of the eyes are mixed -81.3 per cent blue-brown. Mixed eyes are a little more heavily pigmented in this type that in any other. Yet 74.7 per cent of the mixed eyes are recorded as “pronouncel light” or “very pronouncedly light”. The most prevalent iris patter is “diffuse” or without marked patterning (by far the most common Nordic Mediterranean). Brow ridges are a little larger that ordinary; foreheads least often high, and a little more sloping that in any other except the Keltic type. Nasion depressions tend toward pronounces depth. The nasal profile is a little oftener straight that convex as in all Irish types except the Dinaric.
Tooth loss, wear, and caries in the Nordic Mediterranean type are somewhat above the Irish average –possibly because of an elevation in mean age. Frontal projection of the malars is slightly high, but pronounced lateral projection is less that average. The same structure applies to prominence of gonial features. Pronounced temporal fullness is well below the Irish average. Occipital protrusion, as in other dolichocephaic types, is inclined to be marked. Lamboid flattening is very common, but its occurrence hardly deviates from that of the total Irish series. Occipital flattening is deficient.

North-Atlantids (Hooton's Keltic types):



































North-Atlantids (Hooton's Nordic Mediterranean types):
























Anthropological data as cephalic index, pigmentation, nasal index, stature, weight etc. is available is somebody is interested to know.

North-Atlantids from Northern Europe:

Notice that the examples are quite close to the Nordid type, specially the last one.





Irish pred. North-Atlantids:

From "Antropología física". By A.J. Kelso.1978.



Normal people:



Scottish pred. North-Atlantids: