RACIAL CLASSIFICATION OF TRIBALS IN INDIA

The concept of ‘race’ connotes different meanings in the human society. Anthropologists depend much on the ‘physical markings’ which comprised of some common physical traits like pigmentation or skin-colour, head-shape, stature, eye-colour, lip-form, prognalthism and hair form.
RACIAL CLASSIFICATION
  i.      Mongoloid. This race is mostly found in Asia particularly in Central Asia. Its physical characteristics are gray-eyes, yellow complexion, black hair on the body, flat rose broad face and medium height. The Mongoloid can be further divided into four main subdivisions on the basis of their geographical distribution such as –
a.       Classical or Central Mongoloid
b.      The Arctic or Eskimoid
c.       Indonesian-Malay Mongoloid and 
d.      The American Indians
The Mongoloid features are predominantly found in the peoples of Asia, Indonesia and Americas. The inhabitants of China Mongolia, Tibet, North America, Siberia, Greenland, Burma, Thailand, Malay Peninsula, Philippines, Japan and North-East India showed presence of Mongoloid racial elements. Indians of North and South America also exhibit some Mongoloid characteristics.
ii.      Caucasoid. This is known as white race, but in fact it is of light colour. It has hair ranging from brown to black, thin lips, eyes light blue, hair upon chest, arms and legs. Some are medium to high structure. The Caucasoid racial group includes a large number of sub-races or groups such as –
a.       Mediterranean
b.      Nordic
c.       Alpine
d.      East Baltic
e.       Dinaric (Adriatic or Illyrian)
f.        Armenoid
g.       Keltic
h.      Lapp
i.        Indo-Dravidian (Dravidian)
j.        Polynesian and
k.      Ainu
The Caucasoid features are mainly distributed among the Europeans and their descendants. They are also observed in North Africa and the Middle East to North India.
iii.      Australoid. These are found in Australia. Their racial characteristics are high head, low forehead, big and broad nose, medium lips, grey eyes, wavy hair and generally with short stature. The Australoids are classified into two main groups such as –
a.       Australian aborigines and 
b.      Pre-Dravidian (Australoid or Veddoid)
The Australoid are predominantly found in Australia and Oceania. Some of the population group of India particularly South and Central India showed Australoid racial elements.
iv.      Negroid. The Negroids are found in Africa. Some scholars call it the first human race. Their important characteristics are black skin, woolly hair, broad nose, thick lips, high head and varying stature. The Negroids are divided into two sub-groups such as –
a.       African Negro and
b.      Oceanic Negro
Some anthropologists include another group the American Negro into the Negroid racial element.
The Negroid features are restricted among the populations of Africa and Melanesia. A few people in America are also found to exhibit some Negroid physical features because they are the descendants of African people who were once taken to America as workers. To the Negroid race belong the peoples of Africa, the Pygmy groups of Indonesia, and the inhabitants of New Guinea and Melanesia.
Thus, race can be classified on geographical isolation subdivision of a species. The main purpose of classifying is to study and understanding the population and has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority of one group to another. We human beings belong to only one human species.

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