Classification of Hair Phenotypes

 Classification of Hair Phenotypes

Classically, hair shaft shape (phenotype) was described as Caucasoid, negroid, or mogoloid, supposedly but erroneously alluding to inhabitants or descendants of people from Europe, Africa, or Eastern Asia.

 

This classification presupposes that these groups of related peoples are regionally static or evolved in parallel isolation. In reality, from a genetic standpoint, Africans living north of the equator have considerable affinity with European and Middle East phenotypes. In addition, this classification ignores the millions of peoples from the northern part of the Indian sub-continent who have a greater genetic and phenotypic association with modern Europeans than with those in eastern parts of the Asian continent. 

 

 

This author contends that this classification is now archaic and was based on a number of racial stereotypes which are no longer acceptable and have no genetic basis. A more phenotypic sub-group approach might be proposed by examining world locations.