Malagasid
- common
- occasional
- rare
Description
Relatively recent Bantuid-South Mongolid contact type native to the island of Madagascar. Formed when Malay immigrants from the Sunda Islands met Bantu from East Africa some millennia ago. Arabid and Indid elements entered as well. The type shares the island with Bantuids, full South Mongolids, and even some Veddoids. Common in Sihanka, Betsileo, Betsimisaraka, Tsimihety, Sakalava, etc.
Physical traits
Medium brown skin and often (tight-)curly hair. Medium height, meso-, sometimes brachyskelic, variable body type. Mesocephalic, mildly hypsicranic. Meso- platyrrhine nose that is not very prominent. Sporadically slanting eyes, prognathy absent, hairiness weak.
Literature
Named and defined by Biasutti (1967) as Malgascia, who noted superficial similarities to Ethiopids. Also used by Glinka (1981) in a similar way. Others described the groups as Bantuid-South Mongolid blends (Eickstedt, 1934; Lundman, 1967). These two main contributing elements can be confirmed genetically (Pierron et al. 2013). Detailed investigation by Chabeuf (1989).
