Gracile Mediterranid
Group Mediterranid
- common
- occasional
- rare
Description
Mediterranid proper, smaller than other Mediterranids: the most gracile type of Europe. Appears first in Mesolithic groups of Palestine (Natufians). Common in Iberia, Southern Italy, Mediterranean islands, Western France, Southern Greece, Northern Tunisia. In low frequencies across Europe, e.g. Western Germany (esp. Rhineland-Palatinate), Ireland, Wales, Southern Bulgaria to the Black Sea and the Levant.
Physical traits
Light brown skin, straight to wavy, rarely curly, usually abundant brown to brown-black hair. Rather short, meso- sometimes macroskelic, ectomorph with gracile bodily proportions, rather wide hips in women. Mesocephalic, chamaecranic with a protruding occiput. Oval, narrow face with refined and gracile features. Straight, hyperleptorrhine, not very long nose. Mildly rounded forehead.
Literature
The type was described early by Deniker (1900) as Ibero Insular. Eickstedt (1934, 1951, 1952) named it Grazilmediterranid, so did later authors (Knussmann, 1996; Vonderach, 2008). Coon (1939) called it Small Mediterranean, Biasutti (1967) Mediterranean proper, with an Italian "Pugliese" subvariety. In other systems it appears as Western (Günther, 1942) or West Mediterranid (Lundman, 1977).
