Group: Ethiopid Local Type
Specialized Ethiopid type living in the hottest region of the world: the Danakil depression of Eritrea and Northern Ethiopia, with an annual average temperature of more than 34°C. Most common in the Afar people and southern tribes of the Saho (e.g. Hazu). Occasionally found in Northern Somalia and across Ethiopia.
Very dark reddish-brown skin, tight-curly to kinky-curly hair. Endomorph to ectomorph and rather short, being the shortest of all Ethiopids. Mesocephalic, sometimes dolichocephalic, orthocranic. Relatively soft facial features. The nose is mildly leptorrhine, narrower than in North Ethiopids, but wider than in East Ethiopids. Lips are full and body hair is scant.
The distinctiveness of the Danakil type was first observed by Santelli (1893). Eickstedt (1934) later mentioned it as a stocky Ethiopid variety. Puccioni and Grotanelli (1967) called it the North Eritrean Ethiopid variant.
