Origin of the Alpinids?

[Curtis24]

Recently, I have been getting into physical anthropology and reading about the different types. I am somewhat confused about the alpinids, however.

1) Where do they come from?
2) What ancient/medieval ethnicities are they associated with?
3) Why are there so many Alpinids in Central Europe, when(according to Coon) that area was mostly Nordid right up til the Fall of the Roman Empire?

[lei.talk]

http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/bilder/Title%20sub%20button.jpg (http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/gloss1.htm#ALPINID)


http://i32.tinypic.com/2h55vuf.jpg (http://www.ems.net76.net/index_files/Page355.htm)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Wikipedia_globe_logo-vec.svg/104px-Wikipedia_globe_logo-vec.svg.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpine_race)
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[Agrippa]

1) Where do they come from?

They are primarily based on older variants, especially from the Cromagnoid spectrum, which changed over time, especially in the unfavourable gatherer and tiller communities. Dependent grain eaters which were rather sedentary became more often Alpinised, it's basically an adaptation to a socially rather dubdominant, yet socially adaptable and physically saving variant, which matures earlier, is more resistant against certain diseases and unergonomic work, uses and stores energy more efficiently, can stand malnutrition better etc.

So basically it is a trade off between efficiency vs. effectiveness, in tillers efficiency became, especially under the unfavourable conditions of the Medieval Age, much more important than effectiveness, with higher individual and group selection being drastically reduced in comparison to the conditions before, in tribal societies and a more favourable climate and life style for the majority.

One basic development could be reconstructed for the West along these lines:

Palaeatlantid -> Berid -> (basic West-) Alpinid.

These new Alpinid forms dripped into new territories by genflow, where, if the conditions were similar - dependent farmers - spread the traits, leading to the process of Alpinisation.

This was discontinued various times, especially when new tribal groups came into already sedentary-dependent farmer areas, but started usually soon afterwards again, since the Alpinid element always survived those movements and could flourish again under such stable but rather unfavourable conditions.

This is Alpinisation as a trend, a process, and thats how you have to see it, because they didn't come in any sort of huge immigration, they popped up where conditions favoured specific traits, saving variants among farmers primarily.

With all intermediate forms (Cromagno-Alpinoid) being still present in many areas, but the classical type is a mostly Cromagnoid derivative, a brachycephalised-reduced-infantilised variant.

That's why you see at least AlpinOID (similar) variants in so many areas, basically in almost all Europid territories and where they stopped, the closely related Osteuropid-Baltid spectrum and Baltisation jumps in as a rule of thumb (less UV light, more Northern Cromagnoid derivatives, more cold adapted and partly Mongoloid influences).


2) What ancient/medieval ethnicities are they associated with?

Well, we don't know their ethnicities, because they had none which survived. They came with other, more progressive-dominant people quite often, like the Bell Beaker Dinaroids (significant Alpinoid minority, most higher level males - by grave goods - were in the early phase Dianroid) or just lived in part- or fully Alpinised villages in the areas which fitted what I described.

The ethnicities we know of all came with other people, which conquered the part- or fully Alpinised areas.

If you associate them with Celts f.e., you just describe Celts in areas and under conditions in which this older population element became more dominant. So they were not the original Celts, nor the real Celts, they were just Celticised or Romanised people, mostly from older elements or newly developed ones, which just survived or even flourished, often under the protective shields of breeds which were more specialised on effectiveness - progressive-dominant variants (= Nordid, Mediterranid, Cromagnid, Dinarid, Iranid, etc.).


3) Why are there so many Alpinids in Central Europe, when(according to Coon) that area was mostly Nordid right up til the Fall of the Roman Empire?

Because they could only spread peacefully, under the protection of rules and laws, kept up by more dominant groups in their own areas. Alpinisation was the trend of the slow but steady Alpinisation of the hungry, suppressed, one sided working and living, constantly sick & suffering farmers, among which people with Alpinoid traits seem to have a higher reproductive rate.

You can see that with those going to the cities, those becoming priests or mercenaries, insurgents or the like, those which had stronger progressive-dominant tendencies, even if they survived the hard childhood in the villages, were less likely to have more children, in the end and this dysgenic trends worked on the common people in particular many generations - with the great emigration waves and modern mass wars afterwards...

In the end, the Alpinid farmer which was just staying at home and underwent everything which came, without doing or changing too much, got more children which survived.

As I said, before the Medieval Times, Alpinisation was at various times stopped or even reverted, especially when higher individual and group selection became more active again, when we see times of movements, herder-farmer warriors, wars, clan organisation and the like (f.e. Germanic and early Slavic expansion). Its similar to gracilisation vs. degracilisation in a certain way.

Aurignacoids/leptodolichomorphic variants, like Nordid, Mediterranid, Iranid, Indid etc. can get more robust or gracile, taller or smaller, along a certain line, they usually don't change their proportions significantly. A Gracilmediterranid is just like a smaller-gracile Nordid version and vice versa. Only slight Neotenic-infantile tendencies can be observed, yet the basic proportions don't change.

Cromagnoids and their derivatives on the other hand come primarily in two stable and harmonised variants: Tall, robust, mature or infantilised-reduced - then usually brachycephalised too, shorter proportions etc. They change more completely, because a typical reduced Baltid is not just a smaller-gracile version of the Dalofaelid, but something more different by all standards, the whole development, maturation process in typically, fully Alpinised or Baltised variants is partially retarded, they have a much more infantile character and different proportions.

Thats also a cheap cold adaptation, because a smaller surface and bigger volume means a lower loss of heat and energy, while approaching the shape of a ball. Same with the lengths and relative breadth of the extremities.

The Aurignacoids don't change that way, they respond physiologically and especially by size. So if they have to survive in the cold, they have to be quite dominant+effective, to gain all the energy and ressources they need for getting the necessary size (Nordid and Atlantomediterranid f.e.), they are an active adaptation, like the basic Cromagnids are too, just with somewhat less energy and different traits in detail - Cromagnids are better cold adapted than Aurignacoids generally, but need more energy to keep up their huge and "expensive" body, which means cold + effectiveness needs to be selected. Take one away and Aurignacoids or Cromagnoid derivatives get a better chance, like after the time of the Ice Age...

Alpinid and Baltid specialisation means efficiency, survival with lower risks and effectiveness, but by being able to withstand the bad times to come - more by "sitting it out" rather than "fighting it out" so to say...