Geography and history are critical factors in the ethnogenesis of the living peoples of Europe. Some of these groups consist of hypotheses, which would lead too far afield to substantiate more precisely at this time. This work will above all deal with the anthropological relations in Europe at the time of the beginning of industrial civilization. This is the only somewhat static epoch about which we possess extensive knowledge. From this point we shall go back to the time of the first expansion of the Indo-European peoples. However, it is hardly possible to go back further in time.
In terms of natural geography Europe forms an appendage of the Eurasian continent. However, we can still not deny the great independence which our part of the world possesses when viewed from a purely anthropological standpoint. For Europe was and is up to our time the dwelling place of the bulk of the White or Europid race and for most of its pronounced subraces. To the south the region of the predominantly Europid race extends approximately to the northern border of the Sudan savannah. East of the Nile river, however, the racial boundary is very indistinct. In Asia Europid races fill up all of southwest Asia and predominate also in the north of western India—becoming rarer about the northern Deccan region and around the lower Ganges region.
East and north of these areas begins the predominance of the Mongolid races. The Mongolids dominate also in the steppes of southeasternmost Russia to the lower reaches of the Volga river and up toward the Ural mountains. From here on the racial boundary is likely to pass between the still predominantly Europid Volga Finns and the predominantly Mongolid Voguls, Ostiaks, and Samoyeds. It then reaches the European Arctic Ocean somewhat south of the mouth of the Pechora river.
Herewith we have delineated the predominant Europid region; in! the Old World. Within this region are found only a few small non-Europid enclaves. One of these is the tiny predominantly Mongolid Pussta region of Hungary—and also the region north of the Azov Sea in the Ukraine. There are in addition a few no less interesting smaller predominantly Negrid regions in the Sahara, and now also, in the Atlas mountain region of Morocco.
The difference between these Europid races in Europe and the other races of the world is among other traits in the skin. The difference is, however, more in the nature of j the skin and less in its color. Skin color varies among different national groups in Europe from rosy-white to rather dark-brown. The latter color is already somewhat darker than among some of the so-called colored races. In addition, there are millions of much darker-skinned, but clearly Europid, peoples in India and also South Arabia.
The thick- and dense-skinned yellow and red race shows no strong change in skin color in its vast and varied range of distribution. The Negro has become more or less black in skin color. But among the Europids pigmentation has been extensively adapted to the existing milieu. Map 1 shows the distribution of eye color and hair color in Europe. The six zones range from light-mixed hair and light eyes in England, Scandinavia, north Germany and Poland, the Baltic States, and northwest Russia to dark hair and dark eyes in Portugal, south Spain, south Italy, and Greece.
Map 1 The Distribution of Hair Color and Eye Color in Europe (Lundman, 1963—according to Ripley, 1900 and Struck, 1922).
Maps 2 and 3 show the distribution of hair color and eye colon among school children in Central Europe. The maps were compiled by the author from the original reports of the
Map 2. The Distribution of Hair Color in Central Europe (Lundman, 1943—according to the reports of the great "Central European School Children Investigation" by Virchow, 1876; Kollmann, 1881; Schimmer, 1884; and other sources). Hair Color Index (Haarfarbe Index) = Number of dark-haired school children per 100 light-haired school children.
great "Central European School Children Investigation" by Virchow (1876), Kollmann (1881), and Schimmer (1884). The Hair Color Index indicates six zones in Central Europe. These range from two very light-haired regions in northwest and northeast Germany, where the number of dark-haired
Map 3 The Distribution of Eye Color in Central Europe (Lundman, 1943—according to the original reports of the great "central european school Children Investigation" by Virchow, 1876; Kollmann, 1881; Schimmer, 1884; and other sources). Eye Color Index (Augenfarbe Index) = Number of dark-eyed school children per 100 light-eyed school children.
children is 10 to 30 per 100 light-haired children, to two very dark-haired regions in the Sudeten and Alpine Mountains, where the number of dark-haired children is 170 or more per 100 light-haired children. The Eye Color Index also indicates six zones in Central Europe. These range from two very light-eyed regions in northwest and northeast Germany, where the number of dark-eyed children is 20 to 40 per 100 light-eyed children, to a small very dark-eyed area in the southern Alps, where the number of dark-eyed children is 200 or more per 100 light-eyed children. The great culture capability of the European peoples, especially the North Europeans, can possibly find its explanation in part—even if only indirectly—in their particularly good adaptation to the cool-damp type of climate. This type of climate is in certain respects especially culture-furthering, for example, for life in the study room and also in work shops. We can also assume with the greatest certainty that the most strongly depigmented Europid races originated in the cool-damp northwest part of the continent. They did not originate in very great distance from this region, namely, east of the Baltic shield. Here the climate in all periods of climate-change immediately before and during the last Ice Age was , probably too sunny for blond persons. Consequently, the alpine and subarctic regions with their strong summer solar radiation—and also the reflection of sunlight from glaciers and snow surfaces—are less suited for lightly pigmented individuals. Modern polar expeditions, for example, do not like to take along blond persons. Again one also observes a slight increase in pigmentation somewhat north of a line that can be drawn through the Valdai Hills (Russia), Estonia, central Sweden, and south Norway. A similar increase in pigmentation is also observable in many mountain regions. In many places in north Russia, up to the Kola peninsula, the increase in pigmentation finds its explanation in late and secondary migrations of eastern, or more or less, Mongolid groups. These groups are physically, and also culturally, especially adapted to these cold regions. In comparison, the dark Scandinavian Lapps are certainly completely Old Europid in origin. They have also been in their present region for a very long time. The Lapps, therefore, are even more deeply pigmented. Thei dark coloring of the iris is also a protection against too strong solar radiation. However, the coloring of the hair—as far as can be estimated up to the present time—is of less;importance. It is of interest that the populations of the dampest, for the most part oceanic, regions of Europe— namely, the western areas of Great Britain and Ireland— show a much darker pigmentation of the hair than of the skin and eyes. Maps 4 and 5 show the distribution of hair color and eye
Map 4 The Distribution of Hair Color in Great Britain and Ireland (Lundman, 1936---according to the tables compiled by Beddoe, 1885).
color in Great Britain and Ireland. The maps were compiled by the author from the data published by Dr. John Beddoe in his classic work The Races of Britain (1885). The map indicates five zones of hair color. These range from a light-
Map 5 The Distribution of Eye Color in Great Britain and Ireland (Lundman, 1936—according to the tables compiled by Beddoe, 1885).
haired region (20 to 30% dark-haired) along the east coast of England and Scotland and extending throughout Yorkshire and Northumbria to two dark-haired regions (60 to 70% dark-haired) in south Wales and along the west coast of Ireland. Eye color is distributed into six zones. These range from two very light-eyed regions (only 10 to 15% dark-eyed) in northwest Scotland and southeast Ireland to two dark-eyed regions (35 to 40% dark-eyed) in northwest and south Wales. Map 6 shows the relation between dark hair and light eyes in the British Isles. The greatest excess of dark hair over light eyes is found in the western part of Ireland. It is noteworthy that in the western part of Britain even the old, native races of cattle are mostly black, while those of drier, east England are mostly brown. On the other hand, many north Russian populations—living in a continental cold-dry environment—show the opposite pigmentation relations: relatively more pigment in the skin and eyes than in
Map 6 The Relation Between Dark Hair and Light Eyes in Great Britain and Ireland (Lundman, 1936—according to the tables compiled by Beddoe, 1885, 1885). The map symbols from 1 to 6 indicate an increasing excess of dark hair over light eyes.
the hair. The whole pattern shows a remarkable parallel to the relations among warm-blooded animals under similar conditions—the Gloger-Gornitz "rule of climate." A purely locaj exception to this is the case of the Czechs, who are darker-haired than their environment but not darker-eyed. This depigmentation of the White race, which becomes ever greater as one moves northward, is shown on Map 1. If occurs to approximately the same degree for skin color, eye colon and hair color. It is generally a true textbook example of a "cline" in man in the sense of Julian Huxley. The clinal distribution of pigmentation extendsj from the Sudan in Africa and the Deccan region of India in the south up to Scandinavia and the eastern Baltic lands in the north.
The variation of the other racial traits (stature, cephalic index, et al.) does not show the same striking regional distribution as in the case of pigmentation. Map 7, which'depicts the distribution of the stature of adult males in Europe around 1940, is quite variegated. There are five zones in Europe ranging from an adult male mean of 160 cm. and under to a mean of 172 cm. and over. For a long time the tallest people in Europe have been the peoples of northwest Europe, inhabiting a zone extending from Ireland in the west to Estonia in the east. This zone comprises the peoples of England, Scotland, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Holland, northwest Germany, western Finland, Estonia, and Latvia. A second area of tall stature—geographically isolated from the northern zone—is to be found in northern and central Yugoslavia. Almost the entire Ukraine lies close to these high values for mean stature. The Scandinavian and Finnish Lapps are among the shortest peoples in Europe. Reliable data from earlier times record an adult male mean of 155 cm. and under for the Lapps. Short stature is also found among many Finnic peoples inhabiting northern Russia. The many mostly poorer mountain-dwellers of south and southwest Europe are also characterized by short stature, especially on the island of Sardinia,
Map 7 The Distribution of Adult Male Stature in Europe Around 1940 (Lundman, 1943—based in part on Struck, 1922 and supplemented by Lundman in 1952, 1963, and 1965).
and also in the Spanish plateau region. In earlier times the greater part of Poland (1919-1939) and central Russia were regions of short stature. Already this brief compilation shows a certain correlation between stature and living conditions. The inhabitants of the subpolar region and the likewise almost as poor Mediterranean mountain-landers are reduced in stature compared to the well-to-do coastlanders of the North Sea region. Map 8 shows the distribution of stature in the Ibemn peninsula. The tallest people are the Basques in northern Spain. The shortest people are to be found in the plateau regions of central, western, and northwest Spain. The Regional differences in stature on the whole Iberian peninsula appear to be predominantly environmentally conditioned. However, the Yugoslav province of Montenegro, which
Map 8 The Distribution of Stature in the Iberian Peninsula (Lundman, 1950—according to the official Spanish military statistics for 1927 and to Tamagnini, 1932 for Portugal)
is just as barren and underdeveloped as Sardinia, harbors one of the tallest populations in Europe, if not in the world. The mean stature of adult males is 178 cm. and above. On the other hand, several prosperous central European populations are barely medium tall. Furthermore, in the last 100 years there has been a significant increase in stature in Europe parallel with the increase in living standards. At present the increase in stature has been most pronounced in northwest Europe. In Sweden, for example, the mean stature has increased some 10 cm. from 1840 to 1965. On the other hand, on the Spanish peninsula, which until recently has remained economically underdeveloped, the change in stature at that time was almost zero. Despite these secular increases in stature in various parts of Europe, the overall regional differences in mean stature have remained unchanged to a high degree. In Italy and the Netherlands, the north-south difference in mean stature has increased around 4 cm. in the last 70 to 80 years. This is due to the greater increase in stature in the northern parts of these countries. The Ukraine has become still taller (1 to 1.5 cm.) than central Russia in the past 40 to 50 years. This increase in stature is primarily due to a more rapid and strong growth during youth. It concerns above all the limbs, so that the individuals become slenderer. This results in a lower Rohrer Index, while the Kaup Index remains unchanged. In addition, it now appears to have been demonstrated that in north and central Europe the long individuals are physically more early-maturing. In comparison, in Great Britain the increase in stature belongs entirely to the last generations, if one excludes some previously undernourished worker populations. To a certain degree the individual differences in physical strength in the struggle for existence in earlier times should be a factor in the present distribution of the races of Europe. Thus, physically smaller peoples are forced into waste regions by larger peoples. Evidently, this was the case with the Lapps. However, in medieval and later times many large Dinaric peoples in the Balkans were pushed back into poor, barren regions by the physically smaller, but military-technically predominant Byzantine Greeks, Turks, and Hungarians. Unfortunately, we do not possess sufficient information about the Rohrer Index and the Kaup Index to depict their geographical distribution at this time.
The European distribution of one measure of head form—cephalic index or breadth-length index of the head—is shown in Map 9. In the case of this anthropological trait also, significant regional differences exist. We find dolichocephalic or long-headed peoples above all in northwest Europe (Scandinavia and the British Isles) and southwest Europe (Iberia, southern Italy, and the west Mediterranean islands). In Sweden a mean cephalic index of around 74 is found in certain localities, which may be a European minimum. In comparison, brachycephalic or round-headed peoples are found in a wide zone through central Europe. This zone extends from Les Landes on the Bay of Biscay across the French central plateau region, the western Alps, northern Italy, up to Yugoslavia and Hungary, and then northwards over the western Carpathians to Silesia and south Poland. In central France in the nineteenth century, the European maximum was probably attained with a mean cephalic index of around 90 in places. One noteworthy exceptipn to this central European zone of brachycephaly is the population of Geneva, Switzerland. Since the Middle Ages the Genevans have been continually mesocephalic. Moving further east, brachycephaly or round-headedness is somewhat less strongly pronounced in Russia. The cephalic index declines here and there—for example, around the lower reaches of the Don river and among;the Volga Finns, to mesocephalic values. On the other hand; the Lapps are brachycephalic.
Map 9 The Distribution of the Breadth-Length Index of the Head (Cephalic Index) in Europe (Lundman, 1943)
We also find a rather large isolated region of long-headedness or dolichocephaly in the eastern parts of the Balkan peninsula (Bulgaria and northeastern Greece). Correlations between economic conditions and head form (as measured by the cephalic index) can be established to a lesser degree than in the case of stature. We still often find rounder-headed or more brachycephalic populations in the mountainous regions of Europe—the French Central-Massif, the Alps, the Carpathians, the west Balkans, Lappland, etc. However, the Central European zone of round-headedness terminates sharply defined at the northern base of the Pyrennes mountains. In the eastern Balkans the mountain-dwellers are still more long-headed or dolichocephalic than the people of the surrounding areas. In southern Norway the round-headed zone is concentrated entirely in the western coastal region.
Furthermore, we have at present no similar changes in cephalic index which are environmentally conditioned as in the lease of stature. In general, the degree of brachycephaly or round-headedness of the local residents in large parts of jiurqpe now appears to be declining again. Thus, in parts of France, such as the Savoy region, the mean cephalic index decreased from 87 around 1830 to 84 in 1950. Similar declines have been observed among'the Swiss and the Norwegians. On the other hand, during the earlier modern times and in the Middle Ages a more or less pronounced change in the opposite direction took place almost everywhere in Europe. This contrasts also with the much lower mean value of the cephalic index found in Europe at the eri'd of the Neolithic period.
In Central Europe the increase in mean cephalic index from the early Middle Ages to the nineteenth century was extremely pronounced. For example, in Bavaria the proportion of the population classified as brachycephalic or round-headed increased from some 30% to 80-90% during this time period. In northwest Germany the change was from about 20% to more than 50% during the same time. The trend toward greater degree of brachycephaly still continues in parts of Poland and Rumania (Necrasow). This trend has naturally been much less pronounced in those regions of Europe which are presently still dolichocephalic or longheaded. In fact, in central Sweden there has been no change at all over time in mean cephalic index.
Map 10 The Distribution of the Breadth-Length Index of the Skull (Cranial Index) in Europe at the End of the Neolithic Period * (Lundman, 1943—according to the tables compiled by scheidt, 1924; and other sources).
How does one explain these changes in head form? The relatively small decrease in mean cephalic index in recent times is probably connected with the stronger and quicker growth in youth. At this age period the head often becomes somewhat relatively longer-formed. In parts of Switzerland and other regions of Europe, the disappearance of cretinism and other conditions, produced by the importation of iodine, etc., is partly responsible for changes in population values of head form.
But what about the great increase in cephalic index in the Middle Ages and later periods? We still do not know to what degree environment, hereditary changes, arid selection were factors in this change in head form. The economic conditions of the lower classes in Europe evidently deteriorated in many ways during this time period. This was due to a sharp increase in population, long-lasting and destructive wars, and intensified pressure of the nobility upon the! serfs. Moreover, in this time pronounced hereditary changes were being established. In part this was associated with a; rearrangement (through selection) of the hereditary composition of the population.
The changes appear to have tended toward a later-maturing and less assuming type, predominantly of the Alpine race. This type could have had relatively better chances for reproduction and survival during the times of war, scarcity, and pestilence (such as the'Black Death around 1350) than the more assuming and earlier-maturing type, of the Nordic race. The round-headed mountain dwellers also suffered less in their protected location during the serious troubles of the land. Thus, these people could later partly settle the rich plains devastated by war and plague.
However, all the above is in no way a sufficient explanation of the change in cephalic index. For in the past two millennia a similar change in head form is very often observable among Mongolid populations. It also occurred among Europid peoples living in the colder regions of Europe, but not among Europids of the warmer regions. Perhaps this is one of the causes of the sound shift in the south German language which set in at about the same time.
Let us now turn to two other racial characteristics, which obviously have the greatest significance for deciphering the migrations and mixtures of races. For these traits—as far as we can determine—are completely constant or independent of the environment. They evidently show almost no hereditary changes in historical times.
The first anthropological trait is the relation of the height to the length of the cranium, known as the Height-Length Index (H.L.I.)- This is not measurable on living subjects. Map 11 shows the distribution of this index in Europe in
Map 11 The Distribution of the Height-Length Index of the Skull in Europe in Modern Times (Lundman, 1943).
modern times. The Height-Length Index indicates three zones in Europe. These range from a region of low-vaulted crania in West Europe (the British Isles, Scandinavia, Germany, France, and northern Spain) to a region of high-vaulted crania in the western Balkans and Anatolia.
Since the heads (crania) often became shorter and wider in the Middle Ages, the height of the cranium also diminished somewhat. In this way the relation of the height to the length of the cranium remained almost unchanged. Map 12 shows how remarkably similar have been the zones indicating the distribution of the height-length index in Europe. Since the heads (crania) often became shorter and wider in the Middle Ages, the height of the cranium also diminished somewhat. In this way the relation of the height to the length of the cranium remained almost unchanged. Map 12 shows how remarkably similar have been the zones indicating the distribution of the height-length index in Europe
Map 12 The Distribution of the Height-Length Index of the Skull in Europe at Different Time Periods (Lundman, 1943).
The boundary between the low-skulled West Europe— from northern Norway down to northern Portugal—and the high-skulled central region of Europe is up until our time often rather sharply defined. Still more sharply defined is the border between the high-skulled Europid populations of eastern Europe and southwest Asia and the low-skulled Mongolid populations of northern and central Asia. The small low-skulled enclaves in the Magyar Pussta region and among the Transsylvanian Szeklers indicate stronger and later Mongolid strains. Likewise, the similar low-vaulted crania of the eastern Lapps (in northern Finland) indicates Mongolid admixture among these people.
On the other hand, the continuous region of high-vaulted crania across southern Russia shows how relatively little Mongolid blood infiltrated this part of Europe. There is also a high-skulled region in the southern half of the Spanish peninsula. This is evidently connected with similar regions in the Sahara of North Africa. The Sierra Nevada region of southernmost Spain and the Atlas Mountain area of northern Morocco, however, are more low-skulled.
The second anthropological trait is the relation of the height to the breadth of the cranium, known as the Height-Breadth Index (H.B.I.). For the geographical distribution of the Height-Breadth Index, we have only an older map constructed by the author in 1939 and subsequently modified. Map 13 shows the distribution of this index in Europe with three zones indicated. These range from a region of low-broad crania in western Germany, Belgium, France, and northern Spain to a region of high-narrow crania in southeastern Finland, the southeast Balkans, southern Spain and the Mediterranean islands, and across North Africa.
The distribution of the alleles of the human blood groups in Europe also shows marked regional variations, which are of great interest to anthropologists. This distribution is certainly very old, since the mutation rate of the alleles is evidently very low. Unfortunately, we can study blood groups almost only on living subjects.
Map 13 The Distribution of the Height-Breadth Index of the Skull in Europe (Lundman, 1939).
Serological studies show, for example, the almost total identity of blood group relations among the peoples of northern India and the Gypsies of Europe. Often such studies demonstrate the striking "Mongolic," or rather eastern, blood-picture of the Magyar Pussta population and of the eastern Lapps. These allelic frequencies are consequently especially important to anthropologists, because they are almost the only anthropological traits which show directly the genetic differences between populations.
The European distribution of blood-allele p (the gene for blood type A in the ABO-System) is shown in Map 14.
Map 14 The Percentage Distribution of Blood-Allele P in the ABO-System in Europe* (Lundman, 1963—according to Mourant, 1958).
The p-gene attains its highest global frequency in Europe and Asia Minor. The maxima probably occur in Scandinavia and Finland, as well as in several central and south European regions. The most distant parts of northwestern and eastern Europe, together with southern Italy and the Mediterranean islands, show lower values for the p-gene. The European minimum is found in western Ireland with a gene frequency of less than 15%.
It is also interesting that low p-values (20% or less) are found in several refuge areas of Europe—among the Basques, in the marsh and moor regions of the Netherlands, in the Po delta region of northeastern Italy, and in some forest regions of central Sweden. This probably means that large parts of the western half of Europe may have had lower p-gene frequencies—i.e., smaller proportions of blood type A—in earlier or prehistoric times. The higher pfrequencies may have been first diffused by Indo-European agricultural tribes from southeast Europe. Moreover, in [Central Europe there is no difference in p-gene frequency between the predominantly Nordic and the predominantly Alpine regions.
The high p-value in the greatest part of the Iberian peninsula is noteworthy. The isolated Castilian boundary-mountain regions attain p-values bordering on the world-maximum, up to at least 50%. These high p-values are found in both the low-skulled and the high-skulled regions of Spain, but not among the living Basques or in the surrounding areas which were once Basque-speaking. The Spanish blood-group relations are also noteworthy in regard to the much lower pvalues in all the Europid parts of northwest Africa.
The particularly high p-value of the Lapps, both the eastern and western groups, evidently has a special history. For among these people the rare P2-group (for blood type A2) predominates over the more common P1-group (for blood type A!) to the highest degree by far in the entire world.
The European distribution of blood-allele r (the gene for blood type O in the ABO-System) is shown in Map 16. The distribution of this allele shows many interesting features.
The maxima for the r-gene in Europe are attained in the above-named relatively low-p regions in the western half of the continent. In western Ireland r-frequencies of 80% or more are found. In eastern Europe, and among all the Lapp groups, the r-gene is much more weakly represented. The percentage values are up to 50% in these populations.
The somewhat isolated region of East Karelia in northwestern European Russia shows very divergent blood group proportions: high q, moderate r, but very low p. These proportions are found among the Finns as well as among the Russians who have been living in this region since olden times. In total these blood group proportions are almost "East Siberian" values. However, they are probably only the result of "genetic drift" among this still partially isolated population with a very weak degree of Mongolid admixture.
The European distribution of blood-allele q (the gene for blood type B in the ABO-System) is shown in Map 15. The distribution of this allele is of special interest to us. In almost all East Europe north of the Danube river and to the west approximately to the Finnish-Scandinavian and the German-Slavic linguistic boundaries (as of the year 1900), we find a higher q-frequency together with a greater proportion of high-skulled crania. West of the Adriatic and the eastern Alps, however, the high-skulled regions are low in the q-gene. In southern Spain we find medium q-values, together with long-high crania.
The Lapp groups show completely contrary blood and cranial relations. The Scando-Lapps are high-skulled, but very low in the q-gene. On the other hand, the East Lapps are low-skulled and high in the q-gene. These still little known relationships are also very unique from a racial-physiological standpoint (L. Beckman).
The higher q-value, i.e., higher frequency of blood type B, in East Europe is evidently caused by Mongolid blood only to the slightest degree (remember the above description of the distribution of cranial height in East European Europid and north Asian Mongolid populations).
Map 15 The Percentage Distribution of Blood-Allele Q in the ABO-System in Europe * (Lundman, 1963—according to Mourant, 1958).
The q-value is just as high in Estonia and West Poland as around the Moscow region of Russia. In both areas the qvalue is somewhat higher than in the central Ukraine. Naturally, these blood-group patterns are incompatible with an exclusively Mongolid source for the higher frequency of blood type B in East kurope. This higher p-value is thus far older and characteristic of many eastern Europid races.
Map 16 The Percentage Distribution of Blood-Allele R in the ABO-System in Europe * (Lundman, 1963—according to Mourant, 1958).
Furthermore, the almost completely Mongol-free Europid peoples of northern India have just as high q-gene frequencies as the Central Asiatic Mongolids. The sharp decline in q-value at the German-West-Slavic language boundary up until our time shows how old must be this anthropological difference. It dates back, at least, to before 1000 a.d.
The relations of the other blood group systems are even in Europe barely sufficiently known in detail. In the MN-system, the proportion of blood type M declines rather uniformly from east Europe to west Europe. However, as a purely local exception very high M values are found on the island of Sardinia. With regard to the Rh-system, low frequencies of "Rh-negative" individuals are found among the Lapps, the Sardinians, and the Galicians of Spain. Among the Basques, however, the frequency of Rh-negatives is relatively high.
Unfortunately, the geographical distribution of other important anthropological traits—body form, facial index, nasal index—cannot be treated within the scope of this paper. Some of these traits are insufficiently known as to their geographical variability. Other of these traits show no great regional contrasts.