Description
Special group, typical for the old agricultural population of Southern Africa with many unique features, adapted to dry climate. Very ancient and distinct. Stature is rather short, the bodies are lean, women show steatopygia. The skin is yellowish light brown, often wrinkled, peppercorn hair common, nose very wide, eye folds are frequent, the skull is long and low with little prognathy. Compared to the similar Sanids, Khoids are taller, less infantile, faces longer, chins more pointed, heads longer, the convex upper lip is absent. Was more widespread across Southern Africa until Bantu and European colonisation almost wiped it out. Besides the Khoid (proper), distant relationships to East African types may exist (Sandawe, Hadza) as well as to North African types (Paleo Saharid). The almost extinct Strandlooper type seems to be an ancestral form.
Physical Traits
Stature: Rather short
Build: Lean
Skin: Yellowish light brown, wrinkled
Hair: Peppercorn
Nose: Very wide
Eye folds: Frequent
Skull: Long and low
Prognathy: Little
Face: Long
Chin: Pointed
Special: Steatopygia in women
The Khoid type is characterized by unique features adapted to dry climate conditions. Stature is rather short with lean bodies, and women characteristically show steatopygia (accumulation of fat in the buttocks region). The skin is yellowish light brown and often appears wrinkled. Hair displays the distinctive peppercorn texture. The nose is very wide, and eye folds are frequent. The skull is dolichocephalic (long-headed) and low, with little prognathism. Compared to the similar Sanid type, Khoids are taller, less infantile in appearance, have longer faces with more pointed chins, longer heads, and lack the convex upper lip characteristic of Sanids. This very ancient and distinct type shows adaptations to the Southern African environment.
Literature References
This phenotype has been documented in anthropological literature under various names:
- Khoid (Eickstedt, 1952; Lundman, 1967; Knussmann, 1996)
- Khoinid (Eickstedt, 1934)
- Hottentot (Deniker, 1900; Hooton, 1946; Cole, 1965; Vallois, 1968; Debets, 1974; Vogel, 1974)
- Ottentotta (Biasutti, 1967)
- Homo hottentotus (Bory, 1827; Fischer, 1829)
