THE ANIMAL CLIMAX-THE CHORDATES 



359 



The criteria that have been used to dis- 

 tinguish the various races are such points 

 as stature, hair, face proportions, skull 

 shape, complexion, eye and skin color, and 

 blood groups. Although there is no clear- 

 cut line of demarcation between many indi- 

 viduals due to interbreeding, there are cer- 

 tain racial characteristics present that make 

 it possible to set up a tentative classifica- 

 tion. Using the simple basis of color for 

 comparison, there are three major groups: 

 the Negroids (black), the Caucasoids 

 (white) and the Mongoloids (yellow). 



The Negroids. These are the darkest of all 

 people, and include the Negroes, pygmies, 

 Bushmen, and Hottentots. Aside from the 

 heavy pigmentation in their hairless skin 

 which gives them the dark color, their hair 

 is black and has a kinky texture much like 

 wool, their heads are long, their noses are 

 flat, and their lips are thick and curved out- 

 wards from the mouth. This group includes 

 the African Negroes as well as those of tlie 

 many Pacific islands from New Guinea to 

 the Fiji Islands and elsewhere. They range 

 in stature from the tall, powerful Zulus to 

 the tiny African pygmies (Negritos). The 

 group as a whole has done well both in their 

 natural environments and when trans- 

 planted to other parts of the world. 



Special mention should be made of the 

 natives of Australia because they possess 

 certain bizarre characteristics reminiscent 

 of the animals on this isolated island. They 

 are a very primitive people both in anatom- 

 ical features and in culture. There are only 

 about 60,000 of them left today and these 

 are located along the northern coasts of 

 Australia. Physically they are of a "low" 

 type, exhibiting many features, such as 

 heavy brow ridges, which remind one of the 

 Neanderthal man. Although they have the 

 broad nose, skull, and jaws of the Negro, 

 they do possess characters that approach 

 those found among white races, namely, 

 greater hairiness, lighter skin color, wavy 

 rather than kinky hair, and only moderately 

 swollen lips. It has been suggested that 



since this race of colored people seems to be 

 neither Negroid nor white, perhaps they 

 made their way to Australia from Asia 

 where the main human stock evolved at 

 a time when the human race had reached 

 the stage in evolution which thsy represent 

 today. Due to isolation, they remained 

 pretty much the same up to the present 

 time, along with other animals living under 

 similar conditions on this great island. If 

 this idea is correct, we can observe today 

 a "living fossil" of man. 



The Caucasoids. This group includes a 

 wide range of people, in fact, about all of 

 those that are neither Negroid nor Mongol- 

 oid. In general, they possess characteristics 

 that are consistent within wide limits. For 

 example, they have skin color ranging from 

 white to dark brown, eye color from blue 

 to dark brown, and hair color from light 

 blond to dark brown, the hair itself being 

 straight or wavy but never kinky nor wooly. 

 This group includes the most aggressive 

 people of the world, representatives of 

 which have inhabited Europe, the Ameri- 

 cas, and parts of Asia. Some of the major 

 types belonging to this race are listed 

 below: 



1. Mediterranean. These are dark-eyed, 

 dark-skinned, long-headed, straight-haired 

 people of slender build, inhabiting the re- 

 gions along the Mediterranean from Spain 

 to India. They are the native Indians of 

 India; those who pushed farther eastward 

 to the East Indies are known today as the 

 Polynesians. They have expanded still more 

 to practically all of the Pacific Islands from 

 New Zealand to Hawaii. They are a sturdy, 

 hardy stock that has been able to travel 

 great distances to inhabit these widely sep- 

 arated islands. 



2. Aintis. In northeast Asia and particu- 

 larly in a small section of Japan these long- 

 headed, hairy, and dark complexioned peo- 

 ple have established themselves. They are 

 geographically isolated and represent as 

 near a "pure" race as can be found. 



3. Nordics. These are tall and slender 



