Description:
Australid desert variety adapted to the arid interior of Australia. Has furnished the general public idea of the typical Australian Aborigine. Basically a North-South Australid blend with a variety of exaggerated features. Typical tribes include Ngaanyatjarra, Pintupi, and Pitjantjatjara. The desert people have had contact to European colonisers only since the 20th century, thus the type is still relatively common.Physical Traits:
Dark, sometimes medium brown skin. Curly or wavy hair that varies from blonde to brown-black. Medium height, hyperbrachyskelic, ectomorph. (Hyper-)dolichocephalic, chamae- orthocranic, rather small-headed. Extremely short face that is wide relative to forehead and skull. Nose (hyper-)platyrrhine, short with a high back and depressed root, often concave. Supraorbital arches strong, deep-set eyes, facial features very robust. Mildly prognathous, body hair medium.Literature:
The type was identified as a specialised Western Desert type by Birdsell (1942, 1949). In accordance the specialised blend was also mentioned by other authors (Hooton, 1946; Cole, 1965).
