Libyid
Group Orientalid
- common
- occasional
- rare
Description
North African steppe type that is usually regarded as part of Orientalid. Although Arab invasions enhanced the Orientalid element in Africa during the 7th and 11th century, this type results from much earlier migrations and was already present in the ancient Libyan Garamantes. Still common across the steppes of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, sometimes Algeria, occasionally in the Sahara and in Andalusia. Closely linked to Targid, which can be regarded as its desert variety.
Physical traits
Light brown skin, often wavy black hair. Rather tall, brachy- mesoskelic, ectomorph. Dolichocephalic, chamaecranic with a round occiput. Long face, dark eyes, big mouth, and an often convex, hyperleptorrhine and prominent nose. The interorbital distance is relatively small, features are much finer than in Berberid.
Literature
Named and defined by Biasutti (1941, 1967) as a major North African Iranid (Orientalid) subtype after Peters (1940) had identified a large fraction of the Libyans as Orientalid. Similarly used by Drexel (1955) as part of Libo-Berberid. Often synonymous with Orientalid (Eickstedt, 1943; Alcobé y Noguer, 1952; Knussmann, 1996) .
