First, a quick comment on Nordids. Nordids, a.k.a. "Nordics", are strongly depigmented, orthognathic and leptomorphic dolicho-mesocephals of northern Europe. The general Nordid type probably evolved through the blending of gracilized northern European Cro-Magnoids (robust broad-faced Upper Paleolithic types) with various types, including tall leptomorphs associated with the Battle-Axe and Boat-Axe peoples, who entered Europe from the Eurasian steppes (carrying the Corded type with them), penetrating the various Nordid-formative territories in several consecutive waves. The resulting blends were subsequently stabilized, and the resultant types further specialized, to yield the present Nordid varieties. The ancestral Corded type (named after its association with the Corded Ware culture), with its high vault and long head, was skeletally "nordiform" (approaching a Nordid), or perhaps Mediterranid (of a larger, more robust variety).

It should be duly noted that the question of Nordid origin is a much debated subject, and the foregoing account (which reflects the views of the SNPA) should not be embraced without criticism: it is merely one of several possible explanations. Carleton Coon, and others with him, suggested that the Nordid was essentially a depigmented Mediterranid, derived from the combination of Corded and "Danubian" strains, and thus not immediately affiliated with the northern European Upper Paleolithic survivals. However, there can be no doubt as to the partial affiliation of the Nordid types to the larger-framed, broader-faced Cro-Magnids of present-day northern Europe (the Dalo-Falid and Brünn types). The fact that Cro-Magnoids have been subject to gracilization in a Nordoid direction is witnessed by the existence of Paleolithic pre-Corded intermediate Cro-Magnoid-Nordoid skulls in the Scandinavian region (K.E. Schreiner, Crania Norvegica II, 1946). The Corded type seems responsible for the relative high-headedness of the Nordid types, as compared to adjacent Cro-Magnid varieties.

Nordids are in a sense a northern equivalent of the southern Mediterranid leptomorphs, existing in a general dichotomy with broader-featured Europid Cro-Magnoids. This duality may be a reflection a general distributional trend, recalling the dichotomy between the Cro-Magnoid and Capellid/Aurignacid varieties of Paleolithic Europe.


                                      

                            


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Disclaimer

The SNPA would like to clarify that none of the living individuals depicted in the Nordish Gallery are in any way engaged in the activities of the SNPA, and that so far we have not engaged any of them concerning their views on said activities. Images of their persons are featured on account of morphological features which qualify them as examples of the various physical types under scrutiny. Should you have any objection to, or complaint about, the use of any of the photographic material featured in the Nordish Gallery, please - do not hesitate to contact us. We will immediately remove the image or images you find objectionable.