Description:
West-Central Asian Orientalid with Aralid admixture, particularly common in Turkmens. Significantly differs from other Central Asians by longer heads and taller stature. Relatively recent contact type that probably developed in the ancient Joresmi, Alans, and Sogidans due to Mongoloid admixture during the first millennium. Extends in low frequencies to Afghanistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey.Physical Traits:
Light brown skin, straight dark hair. Rather tall, mesoskelic, ectomorph. Mesocephalic, hypsicranic with a (strongly) leptorrhine, sometimes convex nose. Face is long and thin. Beard growth is moderate and weaker than in Orientalids. Eyes mildly slanting, Mongolian folds in a few individuals.Literature:
First described and named Transcaspian by Oshanin (1927, 1964). Jarcho (1934) and Coon (1939) regarded it as a local variety of Mediterranean, Cole (1965) as the Turkoman variety of Irano Afghan. Aleksejev (1974) and others suggested to integrate it into Caspian (~Iranid). However, Debets (1970) notes strong Mongoloid features and Bernhard (1993) describes them as long-headed Turanids.
