Description:
Veddid proper type, typified by aboriginals of Sri Lanka - the Vedda people. Relatively ancient with a long history in the region. Relict groups today mostly live in the eastern parts of the island, a few hundred unmixed remain. The Vedda culture and phenotype might vanish soon, although admixture with the type seems relatively common in different parts of the island.Physical Traits:
Dark brown skin, but on average lighter than in the Tamil cohabitants. Wavy hair, short, hyperbrachyskelic, ectomorph. Dolichocephalic, mildly hypsicranic, small-headed. Mesorrhine and low nose. Round occiput. Face and body infantile. The face is relatively low and roundish, zygomatic arches protruding, the chin often receding, forehead steep, eyes are wide and often sunken. Prognathy mild.Literature:
Described much earlier than other Veddoid varieties (e.g. Virchow, 1881 and Sarasin, 1893). Following Sarasin, Eickstedt (1927, 1934, 1952b) defined it as Veddid proper. Cole (1965) , Lundman (1967), Biasutti (1967), Knussmann (1996) and many others kept the type.
