Nordic race

This article is about the historical race concept. For the ideology, see Nordicism.
"Nordish" redirects here. For the English cricketer, see Thomas Nordish.

The Nordic race is an obsolete racial concept which originated in 19th-century anthropology. It was once considered a race or one of the putative sub-races into which some late-19th to mid-20th century anthropologists divided the Caucasian race, claiming that its ancestral homelands were Northwestern and Northern Europe,[1][2][3][4] particularly to populations such as Anglo-Saxons, Germanic peoples, Balts, Baltic Finns, Northern French, and certain Celts, Slavs and Ghegs.[5][6][7] The supposed physical traits of the Nordics included light eyes, light skin, tall stature, and dolichocephalic skull; their psychological traits were deemed to be truthfulness, equitability, a competitive spirit, naivete, reservedness, and individualism.[8] In the early 20th century, the belief that the Nordic race constituted the superior branch of the Caucasian race gave rise to the ideology of Nordicism.

With the rise of modern genetics, the concept of distinct human races in a biological sense has become obsolete.[9] In 2019, the American Association of Biological Anthropologists stated: "The belief in 'races' as natural aspects of human biology, and the structures of inequality (racism) that emerge from such beliefs, are among the most damaging elements in the human experience both today and in the past."[10]

  1. ^ Hutton, Christopher (2005). Race and the Third Reich: Linguistics, Racial Anthropology and Genetics in the Dialectic of Volk. Polity. p. 133. ISBN 9780745631776. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  2. ^ Hayes, Patrick J. (2012). The Making of Modern Immigration: An Encyclopedia of People and Ideas. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313392030.
  3. ^ Porterfield, Austin Larimore (1953). Wait the Withering Rain?. Leo Potishman Foundation. ISBN 9780912646374. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  4. ^ Hutton, Christopher (2005). Race and the Third Reich: Linguistics, Racial Anthropology and Genetics in the Dialectic of Volk. Polity. ISBN 9780745631776. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  5. ^ Beals, Ralph Leon; Hoijer, Harry (1965). An Introduction to Anthropology. Macmillan. p. 220.
  6. ^ File:Passing of the Great Race - Map 4.jpg
  7. ^ Grant, Madison (1921) The Passing of the Great Race, New York: Scribner's Sons. p.167
  8. ^ Gunther, Hans F. K. (1927). The Racial Elements of European History. Translated by Wheeler, G. C. London: Methuen. p. 3.
  9. ^ American Association of Physical Anthropologists (27 March 2019). "AAPA Statement on Race and Racism". American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Retrieved 19 June 2020. Race does not provide an accurate representation of human biological variation. It was never accurate in the past, and it remains inaccurate when referencing contemporary human populations. Humans are not divided biologically into distinct continental types or racial genetic clusters.
  10. ^ American Association of Physical Anthropologists (27 March 2019). "AAPA Statement on Race and Racism". American Association of Physical Anthropologists. Retrieved 19 June 2020.