Different ethnologists have classified human races differently. Of these few most important are as follows:
- Bernier’s attempt to classify humans may be considered as the first attempt to classify human race in to four groups. In 1921 Bradley made another attempt to systematize the racial types using dichotomous method and distinguished into three racial types, i.e., White (Bearded and Beardless); Negroes (Straight haired and Woolly Haired), Intermediates (Mulattoes).
- Linnaeus (1958) introduced binary nomenclature and proposed a systematic classification of human species, Homo Sapiens into six subdivisions, viz., Homo ferus (Savage), Homo Americans, Homo europeans, Homo asiaticus, Homo asser (Negro) and Homo monstrous (abnormal).
- In 1775 Bluemenbach, a German scientist studied the craniological material and classified mankind into five types: 1) Caucasian, 2) Mongolian, 3) Ethiopian, 4) American, 5) Malayan.
- In 1848 Pickering identified eleven human races, viz., Mongolian, MalayPolynesian, Australian, Papuan, Negrito, Hindu, Nubian, Hottentot, Abyssinian and White.
- In 1870 Huxley proposed a classification of mankind including five principle races divided into fourteen secondary races. Later on Haeckel Muller (1879), Topinard (1885) and Quatrefages (1889) further slightly modified Huxley’s classification.
Denikar’s Classification
In 1889 Deniker proposed a classification and divided mankind into twenty one races depending on hair form and chose nose form and skin colour as secondary traits. This classification is classic and widely accepted scheme. The brief description of this classification is as follows:
- 1) Woolly Hair, Broad Nose: This group include Bushmen, Negrito, Negro Bantu, Melanesian-Papuan, on the basis of their skin colour they may be further classified into. a) Yellow skinned: They are streatopygous, short statured and dolichocephalic like Bushmen. b) Dark skinned: They may be further classified into three groups: i.) Reddish Brown: They are very short statured, subbrachycephalic or subdolichocephalic like Negrito Negrillo. ii.) Black, tall statured, dolichocephalic like Negro Bantu. iii) Brownish black, medium statured, dolichocephalic like Melanesian – Papuan.
- 2) Curly or wooly hair: This group include people with dark skin grouped into three categories: i) Reddish Brown, narrow nose, tall statured, dolichocephalic represented by Ethiopians. ii) Chocolate-brown, broad nose, medium stature and dolichocephalic represented by Australians. iii) Brownish Black, broad or narrow nose, short stature, dolichocephalic like Dravidians. In addition to these another group with tawny white skin, narrow hooked nose with thick tip, branchycephalic represented by Assyroids are also included in this group.
- 3) Wavy Brown or black hair and dark eyes: This group of people includes: i) Indo-Afghan having brown skin, black hair, narrow nose, which may be straight or convex, tall stature and dolichocephalic. ii) Another group of people have tawny white skin, black hair, tall stature, elongated face represented by Arab or Smite, Berber, Littoral European, Ibero-Insular and Western European and Adriatic.
- 4) Fair, wavy or straight hair, light eyes, reddish white skin: This group of people includes Northern Europeans and Eastern Europeans.
- 5) Straight or wavy hair, dark black eyes: This group includes Ainu, Polynesians, and Indonesians.
- 6) Straight hair: This group includes diversified people such as South Americans, North Americans, Central Americans, Petagonians, Eskimos, Lapps, Ugrians, Turks and Mongols.
Hooton’s Classification
In 1931, American anthropologist, E.A. Hooton has suggested a four fold classification of composite races, which is the result of cross breeding amongst the primary races. In 1947, however, he modified his classification
- 1) White (European, Eur-African, caucosoid): This group includes six primary and two composite sub races. The primary sub-races include Mediterranean, Ainu, Keltic, Nordic, Alpine and East Baltic while composite sub races include Armonoid and Dinaric.
- 2) Negroid: This group includes African Negro, Nilotic Negro and Negrito (Pygmies) belonging to the primary sub-races.
- 3) Mongoloid: This group include Classic and Arctic Mongoloid (Eskimoid), Primary sub-races.
- 4) Composite Races: This group further classified into three categories:
- i) Predominantly White – This group includes Australian, Indo-Dravidian and Polynesians.
- ii) Predominantly Mongoloid – This group includes American Indian and Indonesian Mongoloid or Indonesian-Malay.
- iii) Predominantly Negroid – This group includes Melanesian Papuan or Oceanic Negroids, Bushmen – Hottentot and Tasmanians.
Hooton’ s classification has been criticized for the inclusion of Negrito or Pygmy element into the formation of Indo-Dravidians, Tasmanians, Bushman and Indonesians inclusion of Archiaic types, viz., Tasmanians and Bushman as hybrid group and the origin of Dinaric and Armenoid sub-race.
Coon, Garn and Birdsell’s classification
In 1950, Coon, Garn and Birdsell set up six putative stocks. In fact, they realised that the existence of three major races (Negroid, Mongoloid, and Caucosoid) is proposed by the most anthropologists. However, some preferred to add the Australoid as a separate group and felt that American Indians and Polynessias should thus be the other group. On a detailed consideration the three investigations preferred to have a “functional classification” and while doing so they considered the following anthropological observations:
- 1) Differences in tooth and jaw size, skull thickness, brow-ridge size and other archaic features.
- 2) Body built as adaptation to environment.
- 3) Special surface features like skin colour, flatness of face, hair distribution, etc., which are adaptations to heat, light and cold.
On the above basis, Coon, Garn and Birdsell were able to distinguish 30 racial types. Though in terms of methodology, this attempt was certainly a positive advance but a determination of primitive or adaptive nature of particular feature was not easy, which give rise to criticism.
Ottenberg’s classification
- Ottenberg’s was the first scientist to attempt racial classification based on blood group, ABO system. In 1925, he classified mankind into six groups, viz., Europeans, Intermediate, Hunan, Hindu, Manchu, Afro-Malaysian and PacificAmerican. Later Snyder (1926) proposed a new classification with seven groups, viz., European, Intermediate Hunan, Hindu-Mancho, Afro-Malaysian, Pacific American and Australian.
Wiener’s classification
- Wiener (1946 and 1948) proposed another classification on the basis of ABO blood groups, MN Blood type and Rh blood factor into six groups, viz. Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid, Asiatic sub group, Pacific Island and Australian, Amerindians and Eskimos.
Boyd’s Classification
In 1958, Boyd modified Wiener’s classification and proposed six groups comprising thirteen races as follows:
- i) European Group – (1) Early European (2) Lapps (3) North-west Europeans, (4) Eastern and Central Europeans, and (5) Mediterraneans.
- ii) African Group – (6) The African races, excluding inhabitants of North Africa, which belong to European group.
- iii) Asian Group – (7) The Asian races (8) Indo-Dravidian.
- iv) American Group – (9) American Indians
- v) Pacific Group – (10) Indonesian race, (11) Melanesian race and (12) Polynesian race
- vi) Australian Group – (13) Australian aborigines.
Ashley Montagu Classification In 1951
Ashley Montagu proposed a classification, which was accepted by many anthropologists. He used skin colour, hair form and head form. He classified mankind into three main groups, viz.1) Negroid 2) Mongoloid and 3) Caucasoid. He further pointed out that another division which is larger than an ethnic group may be distinguished as Australoid, who is in fact archaic. The physical characteristics of the three major races are as follows:
| S.No | Characters | Caucasoid | Negroid | Mongoloid |
| 1 | Skin Colour | Light reddish white to olive brown. Some are brown | Brown to Brown Black. Some are yellow-brown | Light yellow to yellow brown. Some are reddish Brown. |
| 2 | Head Hair | Light blond to dark brown in colour, fine to medium in texture, straight to wavy in form | Brown-Black in colour, coarse in texture, curly to frizzly or woolly in form | Brown to brown black in colour, coarse in texture, straight in form |
| 3 | Head form | Dolichocephalic to branchycephalic, Height is medium to very high | Predominantly dolichocephalic, Height is low to medium | Predominantly branchycephalic height is medium |
| 4 | Body Hair quantity | Moderate to profuse | Slight | Sparsely distributed |
| 5 | Face | Narrow to medium broad | Medium broad to narrow. Prognathism is very often present | Medium broad to very broad. Check bones are high and flat |
| 6 | Eye | Colour is light blue to dark brown | Brown to brown black | Brown to dark brown. Mongoloid eye fold is very often present |
| 7 | Nose | Leptorrhine to mesorrhine, usually bridge is high | Platyrrhine, usually bridge is low | Mesorrhine to playtyrrhine, usually bridge is low to medium |
| 8 | Chin | Usually projecting | Slight | Medium |
| 9 | Lips | Very thin to medium, small aversion | thick, much aversion | Medium thickness with aversion of membranous often heavy integumented lips |
| 10 | Stature | Medium to tall | Very short to tall | Medium to short |
| 11 | ABO Blood Group | Relatively high incidence of A2 | Relatively high incidence of A2, comparatively high incidence of B | High incidence of A1, very low frequency of A2 |
| 12 | Rh. Factor | Highest frequency of Rh negative | Moderate frequency of Rh negative | Rh negative is rare |
| 13 | Dermatoglyphics pattern intensity | Low | Great dispersion ranging from higher to lowest | High |
| Main Line Formula | 11.9.7 | 7.5.5 | 9.7.5 | |
| Main line | Marked transversally type-ii of D line termination quite frequent | Longitudinal alignment | Longitudinal alignment |