Group: Orientalid Local Variety
Orientalid proper, the most common type of the Arabian Peninsula, often found with Semitic languages. Originally restricted to Arabia, ancient migrations and the Islamic expansion brought it to North Africa, where it is heavily mixed (e.g. Berber Arabs). Conquerors and Arab tradesmen spread it across the Mediterranean, parts of East Africa, India, and Indonesia, Jews to Europe. Since it differs from Mediterranid mainly by soft issue, some include it in Mediterranid.
Light, sometimes medium brown skin. Wavy or curly, black-brown hair. Medium height, mesoskelic, ectomorph. Dolicho- mesocephalic, chamaecranic, rather small, rhomboid head, protruding occiput. Slightly convex, hyperleptorrhine nose. Large almond-shaped eyes, prominent midface, and full lips. Body hair abundant.
Eickstedt (1952c), Biasutti (1941) and Knussmann (1996) described Arabid as the most typical Orientalid (c.p. Luschan, 1911) subtype. Lundman (1967) used Arabid, Vallois (1971) South Oriental, Saller (1949) Araboid / Semitic. Many noted similarity to Mediterranid, Hooton (1939) called it Arabo-Mediterranean. Cole (1965) and Coon (1939) even as the Mediterranid nucleus or Cappadocian.
