10 Golden Rules

The rules stated below apply to over 90% of classifications of European-descended

individuals. They are the conclusion of my experience in classifying such persons and
have been proved to work in nearly all cases. The purpose is to help classifiers and
contribute to accuracy.

When classifying individuals of European descent:

The first distinction to be made is whether the person in question is Mediterranean or
Upper Paleolithic in type. As a rule of thumb Upper Paleolithic types are commoner in
most of Europe. Mediterraneans become more common towards the South. Expect an
Upper Paleolithic type (or a local subvariant of an UP type) and pay attention for
Mediterranean exceptions.

50/50 blends are rare. In most cases, the individual belongs to a certain type (or a local
variant of some type) with possible alteration by other type, but not to the extent to
which the elements in the blend are indiscernible.

Don’t expect everyone to be a typical example of a given category. Also don’t assume
that not having a “typical” appearance implies admixture of a different element.
Specially Upper Paleolithic types are spread throughout Europe in many different local
subvariants.

Be skeptic about blends of similar elements. A Bruenn-Phalian or Mediterranean-Nordic

intermediate is unlikely if considering the morphological similarities and overlaps
between these types.

Demand the subject’s ancestry for classification. Though in theory classification should
be independent of the place of origin, there is almost never sufficient material for
complete accuracy. Knowing a person’s background usually points in the right direction.
Consider the racial history and principal elements of the given country(ies) the subject
descends from and ask yourself whether the person in question cannot be explained as
a product of these.

Don’t classify on impression. An assessment on the physical type of a person is only

valuable if it considers morphological traits. Stereotypes and pigment should not
influence classifiers. Some stereotypes, like the “Irish” lip, have some morphological
value while others like the blonde robust “Nordic” German do not. Do not mistake
“Northern European” or “Germanic” with “Nordic” for example.

Think in terms of morphology, not absolute tags. Words are insufficient when
describing appearances. The most important consideration is whether the group of
features which corresponds to a type is present in a given person. Most Europeans
could be described as possessing a “narrow” nose, many as having a “long” face, but it
does not imply belonging to any type in particular. Pictures, not words.

If in doubt, bet UP. Following rules 1, 2, 3 and 4. UP types have remarkable internal
variability and comprehend most of Europe’s population. If the individual in question
does not seem to be an easy case, or looks somehow “local”, one should begin
investigating whether he or she is an UP type. Mediterraneans vary less in appearance
than Upper Paleolithics. European variability is largely UP variability. It is the
differences beween the UP types that make the distinction between countries.
Mediterraneans only exist as an exception to the UP rule.
No more than 3. Most European individuals could be said to belong to at most 3
different visible types. This is specially the case for Western Europe. Time has not yet
permitted the formation of more complex blends.

Morphology > Metrics. It is possible to find individuals of Upper Paleolithic affiliation

who conform to a Mediterranean type from a metrical viewpoint. The correct approach
when classifying someone is to find persons with similar facial features who have
previously been taxonomised. No pictures hurt: the more material one can assemble,
the better. The more resemblances you can establish and remember, the better
prepared you will be for future subjects. Classifications are analogical not digital.
 I. Neanderthal - Neanderthals are hominids that inhabited Europe and Asia in
considerable numbers during the Pleistocene. Although rare in their pure form,
Coon´s proposition is they have mixed with the Sapiens giving birth to the Upper
Paleolithic types, that constitute one of the two biggest divisons of modern
Whites. Their forehead are short and sloping , the chin much less developed with
a smaller distance between the lower teeth and the chin. The nose is broad and
low, the mouth big and exposed, the cheekbones as well as all bones are heavy
and the hair rufous. Neanderthals are easy to recognize by their well marked
browridges and short, sloping foreheads, this can be seen in all the examples.
The hair is rufous and their upper lip curved upwards. The bones are fuller and
the mouth is bigger and broader. All these features will be inherited in Upper
Paleolithic survivors.

II. Upper Paleolithic Survivors - European and Middle Eastern types of Cro-Magnon
like affiliation. Coon proposed that their differentiation from Mediterraneans
could have ultimately been the result of mixture with Neanderthals. In this
regard Coon states of ancient UP crania :”On the whole, the Upper Palaeolithic
group, including Predmost #3, is intermediate between the Galley Hill-Combe
Capelle type and the Neanderthals, as known to us from the European
Neanderthaloid group. In the first place, the horizontal circumference, taken
above the browridges, ranges from 538 to 563 mm. in male Neanderthals. The
Upper Palaeolithic means is 549.1 mm., the individual figure of Predmost #3 is
556, that of Combe Capelle, 527 mm., which would be nearer a modern
dolichocephalic mean. In face breadth, the Neanderthal figure is represented by
La Chapelle aux Saints With 152 mm., and the Le Moustier adolescent with 148
mm. The Upper Palaeolithic mean is 142.8 mm., Predmost #3 is 144 mm., and
Combe Capelle 137 mm. Again, Combe Capelle represents modern European
man, and the Upper Palaeolithic group takes an intermediate position. The same
intermediate position is found in a number of other characters, including the
vault breadth and height, the minimum frontal diameter, the widths of the orbits,
and the distance between the orbits. In individual cases, such as Predmost #3,
the upper face height is intermediate also, but in the group as a whole it is not,
for the shorter dimension prevails. The same is true of the nasal dimensions in
which Upper Palaeolithic man is not perceptibly Neanderthaloid. The cranial
lengths of the Upper Palaeolithic group are no greater than those of Combe
Capelle and Galley Hill; in fact, frequently shorter. The reason for this may be
that the equivalent Neanderthaloid diameter includes the browridges, which,
when eliminated, make the brain length somewhat less than that of Galley Hill.”
Regardless of their origin, these types have been proved to have inhabited
Europe and certain parts of Asia since the last Ice Age.

A. Unreduced UPs - Unreduced UP survivors are the mostly unaltered

descendants of Upper Paleolithic hunters and gatherers of the Ice Age. Today
their main concentration is in northern Europe, with some importance in
central Europe and North Africa. They are all characterized by heavy
browridges and both large and broad heads giving them bigger heads than
either Mediterraneans or Alpines. Unreduced UPs are recognizable by their
fuller jaws and cheekbones, often a high and big vault is characteristic and
the jaw is of a clifted type. As can be observed in the comparison above, the
upper face and nose are larger than those of reduced UPs which often gives
unreduced UPs a somewhat “Mediterranean” (this is specially true for some
 Faelids and Bruenns) aspect from an Alpine viewpoint. Unreduced UPs are
larger and fuller in all regards when compared with reduced UPs like Alpines.

1. Tydal - A partly reduced and dark UP type similar to the Bruenn, first
noted in Tydal in Tronderlag, Norway by Halfdan Bryn. Similar
individuals were later observed elsewhere in Scandinavia. Tydals are
darker, often somewhat snub-nosed, and smaller when compared with
Bruenns. The type is more rounded-faced and has an infantile aspect to to
it.

2. Faelid - Faelids are unreduced UPs commonest in the northwestern

German plain and surrounding territories. The term “Faelid” used here is
a variant of “Phalian” or “Fälisch” and refers to this type originally
identified by Hans Günther. Morphologically the type is closer to Bruenns
than to Borreby types and represents an essentially unaltered UP
survival. Like Bruenns, the type is large headed and large faced, but the
face of Bruenns is flatter. The eyes are characteristically deep set and the
browridges are noticeably marked. The Faelid eyes often have a
characteristic slit and the chin often appears small for the big and
exposed mouth.

i. Västmanlandstyp - A reduced Faelid type typical of certain regions of

Sweden identified by Bertil Lundman. Essentially Faelid by features
but with lesser skeletal proportions, often with a somewhat concave
nose. The form is as expected from reducing a Faelid.

3. Bruenn - Bruenns are essentially unaltered UP survivals indigenous to

northern Europe, in particular Ireland and the British Isles, with few
spots in Scandinavia and Frisia. Morphologically the type is large and
comparable to Faelids. The name was coined by Coon for its association
with crania found in the Czech city of Brünn. The upper lip looks turned
upwards with furrows between it and the lower lip and the mouth is big.
The first example has a clifted jaw typical of this type. The nose is often
somewhat straight and large, but unlike Faelids the face is flatter. The
orbits are characteristically square and so is often the face.

4. Phalian-Borreby - As noted, Phalian represents the core Upper Paleolithic

type of most Germanic populations. There exists, however, a great deal of
variability (mostly due to reduction) between its most typical form and its
Borreby derivate. This new “Phalian-Borreby” taxon attempts to address
this spectrum, and is judged more appropriate than Lundman’s
Västmanland (which is included) as it must comprise more than a local
subtype. Facial features remind of Phalians but with lesser skeletal
proportions, often with a somewhat concave nose. The form is as
expected from reducing a Phalian. Represents in all regards a transition
from Phalian to Borreby.

B. Partially Reduced
1. Borreby - Borreby types are relatively unreduced UPs commonest in
Denmark and southern Scandinavia. The type is somewhat reduced and
smaller if compared with Faelids or Bruenns. Its name was coined by
 Carleton Coon because he believed the type to be representative of crania
found in the Danish village of Borreby.

2. Baltic - Through a certain degree of reduction, UPs in Eastern Europe closer

but not limited to the Baltic area acquired characteristic morphological types.

ii. East Baltic - East Baltics will be called in this site the types combining
Eastern Europeans Upper Paleolithic survivors with incipiently or
partly Mongoloid types such as Uralics, Ladogans or Lapps and
occasionally Nordics as well. Baltic/Eastern UPs +
Uralic/Ladogan/Lapp = East Baltics. The East Baltic spectrum
comprises from Eastern Germany, Finalnd and the Baltic countries to
most of Western Russia. But individuals combining these ingredients
or part of them are common in most of the Slavic world.

3. Southern Upper Paleolithic Survivors - In Southern and Central Europe,

darker and smaller Upper Paleolithics related to Bruenns occur. It is possible
that the reduciton of many of these types, gave origin to an important
proportion of the European Alpines. Smaller than other UPs, with lesser
skeletal proportions and often a rounder face.

4. Eastern Upper Paleolithic Survivors - In Eastern Euorpe, Upper Paleolithics

similar in general terms to Phalians occur. Compared to Phalians, Eastern
UPs appear less “extreme” featured and smaller and shorter faced, with a
broader lower lip. The cheekbones appear “pudgier” and the nose tip, often
slightly upturned, has a characteristic triangular shape.

C. Reduced UP types, the most important numerically being the

1. Alpine - Alpines are reduced Upper Paleolithic survivors. They usually differ
from other UP survivors for having rounder faces and infantile, smaller
features. They often lack the excess of skeletal proportions of other UP types
and are smaller and shorter headed. Some will be seen to inherit
morphologies more typical of unreduced UPs such as more prominent jaws
or stronger browridges. Originally the name was coined for its central
European population distribution (near the Alps), but individuals of
comparable types may actually be found in a much larger territorial area.
Alpines are easy to recognize by their infantile features and round faces. The
cheekbones are usually less full than either UPs or Mediterraneans, but the
chin is still prominent and clifted in a characteristically UP way. They are
often snub nosed (specially the females) like the Armenian and their vault is
short but a certain dinaric-like nasal prominence is also common among men.
The eyes and mouth appear big for the face and their bones are smaller than
those of other UP survivors.
III. Mediterraneans - the European and Middle Eastern types of Aurignacian
affiliation. Although many Mediterranean subtypes are present, several
generalizing remarks can be made of all of them vis à vis the Upper Paleolithic
types. Carleton Coon describes the Mediterranean: “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.”
Mediterraneans are numerically important in the Middle East and Arabia, the
region Coon called the ”cradle” of the Mediterranean race. In Europe, virtually all
Mediterranean types are descended from neolithic farmers that entered around
–3000 via 3 main routes: 1-Via Gibraltar , like most of the Small Mediterraneans
2-By sea, like the Atlanto Mediterraneans (hence their name) 3- From the
Caucasus and the East, like the Cordeds and the Danubians

A. Small Mediterraneans - called by Coon “Small Mediterraneans”( smaller,

more gracile, less bony, shorter nosed and shorter) . They include the
Mediterraneans from Arabia as well as some Iberians and other subtypes.
Earnest Hooton interpreted them to be reduced derivatives of either Atlanto
Mediterraneans or Irana-Afghans. If true, then in Europe the Small
Mediterraneans may be limited to the former explanation. Shorter-faced than
the Large Mediterraneans. The musculature is less marked and the look is of
a more gracile type. They overlap with Atlanto-Mediterranenas in most
features, representing a reduced or smaller version of them.

1. Danubians - Danubians are Small Mediterraneans that entered Europe

from the East during the Neolithic and settled later in central Europe in
considerable numbers. They mixed in the East with Ladogans and in
central Europe with Hallstatt Cordeds. Today a few may be isolated in
their pure form, but they are more numerous in their various blends like
the Hallstatt Nordic or the Neo-Danubian (Danubian + Ladogan).
Compared with other Small Mediterraneans, Danubians are
characteristically globular and their face skeleton is weakly marked
which, together with their thin skin, has the effect of making the
cartilaginous parts of the face stand out. The tip of the nose has a peculiar
rounded shape with uncompressed nostrils. The nose is straight or
slightly concave. The orbits are low and large and the profile is often
 somewhat concave. The “Keltic Mediterraneans” have broader faces,
lesser gracility, and more rounded features.

2. Keltic Mediterraneans - This is a Small Mediterranean-like type referring

to the gracile strain involved in the Keltic Nordic solution. It is likely but
not certain that Carleton Coon would have considered this type of
Danubian inspiration. In any event, this type was involved in central
Europe in the formation of the Keltic type together with Keltic Cordeds.
This type is broader faced, less gracile, and more rounded featured when
compared with Danubians.

B. Large Mediterraneans - Although quite variable in pigmentation, their

features are often similar regardless of subtype yet at the same time different
from those of Small Mediterraneans. Their heads are larger and their
musculature more strongly marked. The noses are longer, and Cordeds often
present much heavier browridges.

1. Atlanto Mediterraneans - According to Carleton Coon: “Toward the end of

the Neolithic period, the western Mediterranean countries were invaded
by seafarers of a tall, exceptionally long-headed Mediterranean variety;
some of these invaders passed through the Straits of Gibraltar, whence
they also invaded the British Isles and Scandinavia.” These invaders were
the Atlanto-Mediterraneans. The Atlanto-Mediterranean type is part of
the Large Mediterranean family together with Corded and Irano-Afghan
types. Its bony parts are not as pronounced as those of Cordeds or Irano-
Afghans and its forehead is comparatively broader in view of vault height.
It is closer to the earliest discovered forms of the Mediterranean race than
any other type. The taxon, coined by Deniker, is given to the fact that
seafarers of whom this type was representative invaded Europe from the
Atlantic during the Neolithic; alternatively the term “Megalithic” is used
for the type’s association with this culture. Atlanto-Mediterraneans have
characteristically long skulls and noses and are usually tall. They seem to
combine the large features of the Large Mediterranean groups without
possessing their marked musculature and bigger bones and the nose is
typically straight and less convex than is the case with the other Large
Mediterranean types. In contrast to Cordeds and Irano-Afghans; their
chin, malars and orbits are more rounded which gives the type a less
“clear-cut” impression. The hair is often slightly wavy or straight and
brown by pigment.

i. Basque types - Racial types characteristic of the Basque people,

resulting from dinaricisation of Atlanto Mediterranean types present
in the region they inhabit. Coon comments: “The Basques are people
who, although they lack political identity, are, none the less, a nation.
They number about 800,000, of whom four-fifths live in Spain, and the
remainder in France. Their country is clearly delimited by a linguistic
boundary, and their ethnic solidarity is perpetuated not only by their
language lout also by a community of archaic cultural practices, by
special political privileges under the Spanish monarchy, by a
distinctive headgear, and by the recognition of a characteristic
physical type.” Basque types, as expected from their racial origin,
present more prominent noses, fuller cheekbones and an overall more
 dinaric morphology if compared with unaltered Atlanto-
Mediterraneans.

2. Eastern Mediterranean supragroup - Compared to Atlanto-Meds, Eastern

Meds often present more prominent noses and broader lips. They are also
more robust and their features are fuller. The face is usually longer and in
cases gaunt. Dinaricisation is unrelated to Eastern Mediterraneans, but
the process affects them more often than any other branch of the
Mediterranean group. If dinaricised Irano-Afghans are termed ‘Armenoid’
and dinaricised Nordics ‘Noric’, then the standard and traditional ‘Dinaric’
could be interpreted as dinaricisation of different forms of general
Eastern Mediterranean affiliation.

i. Cordeds/Nordics - Corded types are part of the Larger

Mediterranenan family and they are closer morphologically to Irano-
Afghans than to Atlanto-Mediterraneans. The name was coined by
Coon for this type´s skeletal association with the Corded-Ware culture.
Coon believes the type spread from the East into Europe during the
Neolithic and states: “The Corded crania are larger than any from
Egypt, and are metrically very similar to the Elmenteita skulls from
East Africa - the two groups could be combined without loss of
homogeneity. In Mesopotamia, they may be favorably compared with
the three dynastic skulls from Ur, although they are higher vaulted
than the other early groups. There has been much discussion over the
origin of the Corded people, and many cradle-areas have been
proposed. Childe, despite several objections which he himself raises,
prefers to derive them from southern Russia, where the typical
cultural elements of the Corded people are found mixed with other
factors. The so-called boat-axe, the typical battle-axe form which they
used, has relatives all the way to the Caucasus and beyond. And the
horse, their use of which in the domestic form is not fully confirmed,
since the grave examples might conceivably have been wild ones, was
first tamed in Asia or in southern Russia. On the basis of the physical
evidence as well, it is likely that the Corded people came from
somewhere north or east of the Black Sea. The fully Neolithic crania
from southern Russia which we have just studied include such a type,
also seen in the midst of Sergi's Kurgan aggregation. Until better
evidence is produced from elsewhere, we are entitled to consider
southern Russia the most likely way station from which thre Corded
people moved westward.” Cordeds are characterized by featuring a
Mediterranean morphology that at the same time is also unusually
long and heavy, with strongly marked features. The nose is often
somewhat concave but it is mostly straight, differing in this regard and
in its narrower features from the similar Irano-Afghan type. The
Corded represents the idea of ’Nordic’ for most anthropologists.

a. Keltic Cordeds - Similar to the Keltic type . This may be what Carleton
Coon called the “purely long-headed element in the Keltic blend” and
“ancestral proto-Kelts”. Historically all evidence points to this type
having arrived from the East before the Iron Age and settling in
central Europe. The type can be recognized by its pinched prominence
of the nose, which is best seen on the right picture of the first raw, the
nostrils are large and somewhat big, and the head and nose are
remarkably long. The look is of a more robust, larger-faced Keltic type.

i. Keltic Nordic - This type was identified by Carleton Coon in his

book ‘The Races of Europe’ and was coined as Nordic for its
Corded-like Mediterranean nature. It appears to have been the
most representative type of the Keltic peoples. This type can be
explained by the blend of two elements present in central
Europe before the Keltic migrations: besides a Corded element,
there may also have been a small Mediterranean in play which
gives the type a more rounded and shorter-headed appearance.
The Keltic solution, unlike the Hallstatt, is predominantly
Corded. The Keltic type is often mixed with central European
Alpines or Dinarics, that were absorbed prior to its northern
migrations. If the first is true then a dinaricization of the Keltic
form is implied. In any case, these Dinaric influenced Kelts will
show Dinaric features like a more salient nose, a protruding
lower lip and a broader, more lateral morphology. Here I will
present both examples of mixed and unmixed Kelts.
Additionally Coon noted a variant of this type in the Aran isles,
the Aran subtype, which features a lower vault. Carleton Coon
commented that a way of diagnosing this type is by the
‘cylindrical’ profile of its vault and its convergent temporal
bones, something that he also notes for its Corded strain. The
forehead, rather than being plain, tends to converge laterally
closing in the nasion, this convergence is done by raising at the
same time its height.

1. Aran subtype - A subtype of Keltic Nordic typical of the

Aran Isles off the cost of Ireland. According to Carleton
Coon “A special population, largely the product of
isolation, has developed in the Aran Isles. Here a local
Nordic type of great vault length and exceptionally low
vault height, great facial and nasal length, and an excess
of blue eyes and golden and red hair, has developed.” Its
more convex nose as well as all other features are
basically a more rounded and less extreme form of its
Corded type and overall the Keltic Nordic logically
presents Larger Mediterranean features of Corded
inspiration.

ii. Hallstatt Corded - entered Europe from the east during the
Neolithic and settled in central Europe. Combined with the
Danubian type common there both were responsible for the
creation of Nordics. Today both Corded and Danubian
individuals may be found in areas with Nordic populations; and
Hallstatt Cordeds and Danubians are more numerous than
Hallstatt Nordics in Scandinavia. Compared to the other Corded
types, its nose is prominent but not as much, and the face is
narrower as well as are all other features. The nose is not as
prominent as it is with the Keltic or Eastern Corded types, the
eyes are typically big and the orbits high. The Hallstatt Corded
 constitutes a significant element of the Swedish population,
where it arrived together with Hallstatt Nordics and
Danubians.

a) Hallstatt Nordic - Much speculation has taken place

concerning the definition and origins of “Nordics”. The
principal reason for this dilemma was that there was no
certainty as to what exactly a Nordic was: researchers could
tell a “Nordic” look but they wouldn´t be able to define what it
specifically meant, and not all these appearances were
morphologically linked. Eventually, when they tried to come
up with a conclusion, their Nordics had evidently different
head forms. Other common mistakes were to assume
appearances exclusive to northern Europe, such as
unreduced Upper Paleolithic ones, were Nordic or to believe
all blondism to be of Nordic origin. It was not until Carleton
Coon´s understanding of morphologies and his analysis of the
skeletal history of Europe, together with the help of other
researchers, allowed him to aim for a conclusive solution that
this issue was satisfactorily settled. His conclusion is basically
that the racial situation in the countries believed to be
“Nordic” is far more complex than it appeared and that no
single racial type could hold credit for all distinctly northern
European appearances. What Carleton Coon would later
name as “Nordic”, which is the definition I will use here, is a
Mediterranean form almost exclusive to Scandinavia brought
by Iron-Age invaders that Coon believed was representative
of the Hallstatt Culture. But this type is a combination of
Mediterranean factors quite similar to those found outside of
northern and central Europe. Most people commonly called
‘Nordic’ in popular anthropology would be considered
Corded by Coon. The morphological similarity of Danubians
with both Hallstatts and Small Mediterraneans illustrate that
there is no room for the belief of a unique origin for the
“Nordics” or other “Aurignacian” type. According to Coon, all
anthropological evidence points towards the ‘Nordic’ race
being formed in central Europe at some point between the
Neolithic and the early Iron Age by the blend of two
Mediterranean strains common there, the Hallstatt Corded
(term used in this site to differentiate it from other Corded
strains, Coon didn´t refer to any specific Corded subtype) and
the Danubian. Coon introduces the Hallstatt type: “The
Hallstatt crania from Austria, including those from the type
site itself, form a reasonably homogeneous, entirely long-
headed group. (See Appendix I, col. 32.) This group is the
legitimate, local successor to the Aunjetitz, and like the latter
it resembles the Danubian Neolithic series in many respects.
In certain characters, however, it leans in a Corded direction,
and these include a heightening of the orbits and a narrowing
and lengthening of the nose. Certain of the individual crania
are of definitely Corded type. Morphologically, as well as
metrically, most of these skulls may without difficulty be
 designated as "Nordic"; the browridges are moderate, the
foreheads moderately sloping, the occiputs protruding, the
parietals flattened, the malars compressed, the mandibles
deep. The stature was apparently moderately tall. The
Austrian Hallstatt series has close connections in two
directions: first, with the local Bronze Age and Neolithic
populations of central Europe, which preceded it, and second,
with the Germanic "Reihengräber" people who followed it
after a Keltic interruption. The similarity between Hallstatt
and Germanic crania is a commonplace; and if the
Reihengräber people were "Nordic", as is generally conceded,
then so, in all likelihood, were the Hallstatt people. The
significance of this double continuity is great. It traces the
Nordic racial type, in skeletal form, back to the Early Iron
Age, and derives this with little alteration from the preceding
Age of Bronze. The Bronze Age population which was thus
the ancestral Nordic one was in turn derived from a mixture
between the local Danubian Neolithic people, who came from
the east, and the later Corded invaders. The complexity of the
Middle and Late Bronze Age, therefore, and the disturbances
caused by the introduction of cremation, during the latter
part of the epoch, did not interrupt the racial continuity of
central Europe, where racial movements, during the Late
Bronze Age, seem to have been somewhat simpler than those
of culture.” The Hallstatt type may be found in Scandinavia,
specially in southern Sweden and southeastern Norway
although it represents a tiny minority of their populations.

1. Anglo-Saxon type - After the migration and settlement of

the Hallstatt Nordic type in northern Europe; it
encountered the older peoples inhabiting these territories
which constituted a mixture of Corded and unreduced
Upper Paleolithic factors. As Germanic culture emerged in
the territories inhabited by these two groups, a numerically
important and characteristic intermediate form involving
these two peoples appeared. The type was named “Frisian”
after its place of origin or “Anglo-Saxon” for the its eventual
participation in the invasion of England. Carleton Coon,
after examining the skeletal remains of the different
Germanic tribes, believes this type was also the most
representative of the Germanic migrations (the
Voelkerwanderung). Morphologically, the type is basically
Hallstatt. The Anglo-Saxon type carries all the way from the
Hallstatt Nordic its predominantly Danubian factor. The
Upper Palaeolithic influence, however, produces fuller
cheekbones, a higher head with a characteristically longer
ramus, fuller lips and a more prominent jaw. The Corded-
influenced nose is often more beak-like and it is longer
generating a characteristic angularity in the face that gives
the type a somewhat “rigid” impression. The face is longer
and heavier than the Hallstatt type, the skeleton is more
marked, and the head is bigger.
 iii. Eastern Cordeds - While the majority of Cordeds migrated in
central and northern Europe and formed the Nordics, others
remained in Russia and Eastern Europe. The type that will be
referred here as ‘Eastern Corded’ is one Corded type that is
numerically important there.

3. Keltic - This type was identified by Carleton Coon in his book ‘The Races of
Europe’ and was coined as Nordic for its Corded-like Mediterranean nature. It
appears to have been the most representative type of the Keltic peoples. It
derives from central European invaders which in turn arrived from Western Asia
carrying a specific Eastern Mediterranean form. Carleton Coon commented that a
way of diagnosing this type is by the ‘cylindrical’ profile of its vault and its
convergent temporal bones. The forehead, rather than being plain, tends to
converge laterally closing in the nasion, this convergence is done by raising at
the same time its height. The Keltic type´s face is languid, long and narrow. Has a
typical “triangular” shape and a pinched prominence of the nose.

4. Irano-Afghans - Irano-Afghans are Large Mediterraneans common in most of the

Middle East, Iran and Afghanistan. The name of the type was coined for its
geographical distribution, originally as ‘Indo-Afghan’, by Deniker.
Morphologically they are closer to Corded types than to Atlanto–Mediterraneans.
Irano-Afghans present a typical combination of strongly pronounced nasal
convexity and long and narrow features. Their nasal shape together with their
usually broader morphologies distinguish them from the similar Corded type.

5. Pontics - Pontics appear related on the one hand to Atlanto-Mediterraneans and

on the other to Irano-Afghans. Their features are fuller and harder than those of
Atlanto-Meds, and the eyes are rather small, with a small aperture; the foreheads
are narrower and often higher Pontics are Large Mediterraneans present in
certain regions of eastern Europe.

Their intermediates
some Mediterraneans have blended with reduced Upper Paleolithic survivors
Alpines + Mediterranean - When Alpines and Mediterraneans mix, their morphological
intermediates often display non-intermediate features. The cause of this is a process
Coon would call “dinaricization” because of the previous classification of these
specimens as “dinaric” by other anthropologists. Coon explains: “From France to
Macedonia, and from Istanbul to Samarkand, are found populations in which the
majority of persons present a characteristic morphology of the head and face; with a
brachycephalic skull, often flattish in the occipital region, the foramen magnum and
auricular passages set disproportionately far to the rear, the forehead often sloping, the
face frequently elongated, and the nose salient and frequently convex. People who
possess these characteristics have been lumped together in one or more races; the
Dinaric in Europe, the Armenoid in Asia, and the Noric to include the blond varieties. It
is biologically unsound, however, to postulate any historic unity for individuals of these
so-called races, since they are products not of an historical association but of a
biological principle. ” Dinarics will display characteristically salient noses, a protruding
lower lip often broader than of either type in the solutions, a flattish occiput, broader
heads and a face that gives the impression of being narrower in its lower part as well as
in the interorbital distance.
Mediterraneans mixing with unreduced Upper Paleolithic survivors - These individuals
are the result of Mediterraneans (often Nordics or Cordeds) mixing with unreduced
Upper Paleolithic survivors. They represent a more classically intermediate form given
there is little or no reduction involved and thus no dinarization. These intermediates
occurred wherever Mediterraneans and unreduced Upper Paleolithic types were
present and have been given a number of names depending on the specific solution and
on the different types involved. One of such types is the Anglo-Saxon.
Nordic + Phalian / Phalian-Borreby / Borreby
Keltic Nordic + Bruenn
Atlanto-Mediterranean + Bruenn
Atlanto-Mediterranean + Keltic Nordic + Bruenn