Description:
Distinctive Berber type typical for the Eastern Sahara Desert. Typified by the population of the Siwa and Awjila oases of Northwestern Egypt. In lower frequencies extends to Jalu (Libya) and other Egyptian oases (Kharga). In the latter, it is transitional to the Nubian type. Rare outside of the desert.Physical Traits:
Light to medium brown skin, often wavy, sometimes tight-curly black hair. Rather short, mesoskelic, mesomorph to ectomorph. (Hyper-)dolichocephalic, chamae- orthocranic with short face. Mildly leptorrhine, short and depressed nose. Body hair rather scant. Chin and brow ridges weak.Literature:
Coon (1939) described the type as an extreme Mediterranean, Biasutti (1967) as a relict of an ancient ethnic defeat. Detailed analysis by Cline (1932) . Dugoujon et al. (2009) found Siwans to be genetically the most differentiated Berber population.
