Dr. I. Pap szerk.: Studia historico-anthropologica (Anthropologia Hungarica 22. Budapest, 1992)

CHAPTER 4 COMPONENTS OF THE EUROPOID GREAT-RACE IN THE CENTRAL DANUBIAN REGION This chapter is made up of four parts: "Connection between the Southern and Northern components", "Choice of the Central Danubian variant", "Regional territorial complexes", "The racecomponents of the Central Danubian region". The somatological data were sampled by the author from local groups of the Hungarian male population that inhabit neighbouring territories (distances of locations varied between 20-60 km). Therefore the majority of the metric and scopic traits do not differ significantly. Nevertheless we must take into consideration that each local group represented one of the more important ethnogeographical zones of Hungary (Őrség, Göcsej, North-West, Kunság, Jászság, Southern Palóc and Matyó groups, Taktaköz, Szamos region). The distances of these regions are quite large (80-200 km; 400 km) and marital contacts among these distant areas have a decreasing or non-existent significance. On the contrary local groups from these ethnogeographical zones present significant anthropological differences and peculiarities. This kind of comparison demonstrates the mutual influence of the Southern and Northern components of the Europoid great-race within the Central Danubian region. Some peculiarities were selected to make this relationship clear: pigmentation of eyes and hairs, degree of the development of the medial part of the upper eye-lid plica, chest hair, nose and forehead structures. The frequency of light coloured eyes varied between 22% (Southern Palóc and North Hungarian Matyó group) and 52% (Göcsej and South-Western Hungary). 30% of the inhabitants of the Kunság and Jászság region have light-coloured irises. With the exception of minimum and maximum values the zonal distribution of the frequency of light-coloured eyes did not reveal any significant geographic differentiation. However, this pattern was dominant in two zones of West-Transdanubia (Göcsej and Őrség). As far as the mutual relation of the Northern and Southern components of the Europoid race is concerned, the fact, that mixed eyes have a higher than 50% frequency in the majority of ethnographical zones within Hungary, has a special importance. The historical process of biological metisation between the representatives of Northern and Southern Europoids, within the territory of the Central Danubian region is reflected in this fact. Dark hair prevails in all the ethnographical zones and it is also an essential evidence. It deserves special attention that light-coloured eyes combined with dark hair occuronly in the South-Western part of Transdanubia. Male population groups of the Central and Northern zones revealed the combination of dark hair with eyes of mixed colours. This fact also reflected the mixed anthropological composition of the male population of Hungary as studied by the author. The significance of the geographic variability of the medial part of upper eye lip plica is reflected by the continuous growth of the percentage of its absence starting from the Northern Baltic through the Central Danubian Basin and to the Trans-Caucasus and Afghanistan (Estonians, Latvians, Lithuanians, Hungarians, Armenians, Tadshiks and Pushtun). The author of the present dissertation analyzed material originating from 92 local groups of Europeans (9805 individuals) to represent the above-mentioned regions of the Eurasian continent. All these groups were sampled by the same research worker or by his colleagues achieving uniformity of method by regular consultations (Debets 1965-1968, Vitov, Mark and Tsheboksarov 1959). Hungarians take an intermediary position between Northern and Southern Europoids when put into the context of these foreign series. When considering the great contingent formed by all the comparable series, the intermediary position of Hungarians is reflected in their metisated character between the Northern and Southern component of the European great-race. Taking the Baltic series as conditional representatives of the Northern Europoids and the Pusthun groups as conditional representatives of the Southern Europoids the