[Amorsite]

Upper Paleolithics vs Mediterraneans: the biggest division of modern Caucasoids

(by Amorsite)

Regardless of local peculiarities, all the peoples of this planet of Caucasoid race may be divided in two, universally contrasting, morphologically distinct varieties: the Upper Paleolithic and the Mediterranean types. The essay below attempts not to explain the eventual origin of this differentiation, but to describe it using both textual and photographic material. The idea is for the reader to acquire a clear morphological understanding of these two groups and their differences.

This study is divided in: 1) Presentation 2) Differences 3) Diagnostic methods 4) Final remarks

1) Presentation of each group

1.a) Mediterraneans

We may begin with Carleton Coon’s description of the Mediterranean race from his book Caravan: the Story of the Middle East:
“A Mediterranean is a white man of variable stature - as whites go, usually short to medium; his bones are light, but strongly marked for muscle attachments if these muscles have been well developed through use. His legs are relatively long compared to his trunk, and his hands and feet rather small. His chest is relatively flat, his neck of medium length, his head of medium size, long-oval in shape with parallel sides; his face is small and delicate, with only slight bony ridges over the eyes. The upper part of his face is large in proportion to the lower part, so that when he is old his nose looks large for his jaw. Of all human being the Mediterranean has the most human, the most highly evolved, masticatory apparatus. His teeth are small, and so are the muscles that operate his jaw. His face is narrow, and his nose consequently is often prominent when compared to the lower-bridged and flatter noses of wider or longer-jawed races in Europe and other parts of Africa and Asia. The Mediterranean man is a relatively hairy fellow. His head is covered with a heavy growth of straight, wavy, or ringleted hair, usually fine in texture; rarely does the true Mediterranean go bald. His eyebrows are full, often meeting over the nose. His beard develops throughout adult life. While it is not the heaviest beard of all mankind, it is often a close runner-up. His body hair also increases throughout life and individually varies greatly in quantity.”
A Mediterranean individual below.

(Atlanto-Mediterranean from Italy after Coon’s the Races of Europe)

1.b) Upper Paleolithics

A description of Upper Paleolithic crania is found in C. Coon’s The Races of Europe:
“Since, as Morant has shown, this total Upper Palaeolithic group is unified enough to be considered a single population, we may proceed to generalize about the traits which most of the members of this group possess in common. The first and most notable of these is the extremely large size of the brain case, larger in most cases than Galley Hill or most modern men, and comparable in size to Skhul. This is found in all but a few of the skulls, whatever the actual dimensions and forms. The cranial indices, however, are very variable, ranging from sixty-five to eighty-five, and this variability is too great to imply a single homogeneous type.
In these skulls the males are easily distinguished from the females, for there is a greater difference between the sexes than is usual among more recent groups of man. The same is true of long bones and stature. This implies, of course, a stronger development of secondary sexual characteristics. In the male skulls the bony markings are all pronounced the browridges are as a rule heavy, the faces arc excessively broad, with flaring zygomata. The upper face height is variable—medium to short in most individuals, but in others quite long.
One of the most distinctive characteristics of most (but not all) of these skulls is that the orbits are very broad and very low. The nasal skeleton is almost always prominent. The nasal root, although deeply overhung by glabella, is still high, and the osseous nasal profile is as a rule straight or convex. The nasal spine is sharp and the lower border well marked. The nose, on the whole, is leptorrhine to mesorrhine.
The lower jaw presents just as marked an individuality as does the cranium. This bone is deep, wide, and heavy, with flaring gonial angles and a prominent chin. The palate is rather wider than those of most living men, although the teeth are not of excessive size. If one judges the face form from the calvarium alone, the great breadth of the face, coupled with a variable length, yields in most cases a low upper facial index, placing these skulls in the euryene category. If, however, one calculates a total facial index, many of these skulls are leptoprospic, for the great height of the mandibular symphysis compensates for the shortness from nasion to alveolar point. This condition, in which the lower part of the face is exaggerated, is one of the chief diagnostic features of this type of man, and a suggestion of it may still be seen among some of the living peoples of northern Europe.
In the totality of facial features, with a few exceptions, the Upper Palaeolithic people may be said to have resembled modern white men. Some, however, probably looked like a certain type of American Indian, notably that of the North American Plains, and of the Onas and Tehuelche of southernmost South America. This comparison, we must remember, is wholly morphological, since we do not know Upper Palaeolithic man’s pigmentation, hair form, or hair distribution.”
An Upper Paleolithic individual below.

(Upper Paleolithic Survival in Ireland after Coon’s the Races of Europe.)

2)Differences

In his 1939 book The Races of Europe, Coon presented this diagram contrasting the two groups in 16 different aspects.

3)Diagnostic methods

This section deals with the observable morphological traits by which living individuals belonging to either group may be recognized. Though certain features may be more characteristic for a given population of UPs or Meds, individuals with comparable forms may occur in many areas. Mediterraneans, however, never present Upper Paleolithic features and vice versa.


3.a) Upper Paleolithic diagnostics
3.a.i) Everted upper lip

More typical of the Irish, this trait is spread in the Upper Paleolithics of the British Isles and their related types.

(1.Unknown, probably an Englishman, 2. Ian Brown, 3. Chris O’Donnell)

The upper lip appears not to close with the lower lip, with furrows between the two.


3.a.ii) Clifted, prominent chin

Varies slightly with subtype, but is as a rule present in most if not all UP types.

(1. James May, 2. Upper Paleolithic Survival in Ireland after Coon’s The Races of Europe, 3. Greek Alpine after Coon’s The Races of Europe)

There appears to be an “excess” of bony material in the chin, which is often projecting in form.


3.a.iii) Attached, low-rooted nose

Present in all UP types, most UP individuals in which other diagnostic criteria are not apparent still vary clearly in this from the Mediterranean group.

(1. Oliver Kahn, 2. Ian Brown, 3. Sirian Alpine after Coon’s The Races of Europe)

Viewed from the side, the nose appears “insignificant” if compared to the rest of the face, in which the lateral aspects and the robusticity of cheeks, chin, gonial angles and jaw are more important.


3.a.iv) Heavy skeletal structure

Particularly evident in the Upper Paleolithics of Germany and their related types.

(1. Till Schweiger, 2. Albanian Borreby-like type after Coon’s The Races of Europe, 3. Klaus Kinski)

Cheeks, jaw and chins present a heavy bony structure. Probably anyone who has met a significant number of Germans has come across this peculiarity.


3.a.v) Bigger masticatory parts

More evident in the bigger (and less reduced) subvarieties of UPs.

(1. Mick Jagger, 2. Stephen King, 3. Oliver Kahn)

The mouth appears big for the face, the nose often “insignificant”.


3.b) Mediterranean diagnostics
3.b.i) Differentiated nasal apparatus

Present in all Med types, in the Mediterraneans of the East and Nordics the nose is often convex.

(1. James Cromwell, 2. Caucasoid from Pakistan after Coon’s The Origin of Races, 3. Gianluca Zambrotta, 4. Gianluigi Buffon)

The nose is “important” compared to the rest of the face, which appears to gravitate to it, and is often projecting in form.


3.b.ii) Large upper face

In all Mediterranean types.

(1. Peter Cushing, 2. Max von Sydow, 3. Kevin Federline, 4. Atlanto-Mediterranean from Italy after Coon’s The Races of Europe)

Viewed frontally, the upper part of the face appears large if compared to its subnasal portion.

3.b.iii) Narrow jaw with projecting nose in profile

In all Mediterranean types.

(1. Alessandro Del Piero, 2. Nordic after Coon’s Races: A Study of the Problems of Race Formation in Man, 3.Afghan man, 4. Hallstatt Nordic Englishman after Coon’s The Races of Europe)

In profile, the lateral aspects of the face are not important, and the course of the nose, which is clearly differentiated from the rest of the face, becomes more evident. The jaw is consistently narrow.

4) Final remarks

The visual morphological evidence renders undeniable the existence of these two main groups: the Upper Paleolithic and the Mediterranean. The former is far more numerous at least on European ground, and presents a greater deal of variability in part due to reduction and possibly to local specialization. The differentiation is, however, not new, as both UP and Med skulls are found already in the Paleolithic period.
The studious of Morphology and Anthropology of Caucasoids who wishes to inquire in their uniqueness and variation should begin by recognizing this primary division as the angular stone for sound taxonomy.