Morphological composition of the people of India

Abstract

The paper provides an overview of the spatial and temporal aspects of human morphological variation in India. Four morphological types-Australoids, Negritos, Mongoloids and Caucasoids-have been discerned in the contemporary Indian population. The Australoids appear to be the oldest and have evolved in India. The Caucasoids are physically heterogeneous and suggests incorporation of more than one physical type involving more than one migration. The within-type variance compared to between-type variance for characters studied is smaller. The paper further discusses the observed variability in terms of Indian social organization as well as in terms of endogamy, small numerical strength of the groups and varying ecological conditions prevalent in India.