Public Reseach: Race (Slavs and other Vikings, Varangians, and Sarmatians)

[HerenIstarion]

Part of Public Research Project

Since the previous Race poll was more or less general, and since the sheer number of 'white' entry there exceeds 90% of the whole at the moment, and since many of the voters has shown great impatience, I'm coming out with the more detailed survey on the subject sooner than I've planned. But here you are - following public lead, I'm inquiring upon detalisation of constituents of 'white' race as present on the board

Here are guidelines (form wikipedia):

The term Caucasian race is used almost exclusively in the United States to refer to people whose ancestry can be traced back to Europe, North Africa, West Asia, South Asia and parts of Central Asia. It was once considered a useful taxonomical categorization of human racial groups based on a presumed common geographic and/or linguistic origin.

In the United States, it is currently used primarily as a distinction loosely based on skin color alone for a group commonly refered to as Whites, as defined by the American government and census bureau. In the British Isles, "Caucasian" follows the North American definition, but in continental Europe, "Caucasian" currently refers almost exclusively to people who are from the Caucasus.

The term itself derives from measurements in craniology from the 19th century, and its name stems from the region of the Caucasus mountains, itself imagined to be the location from which Noah's son Japheth, traditional Biblical ancestor of the Europeans, established his tribe prior to its supposed migration into Europe.

Caucasoid is a term used in physical anthropology to refer to people falling within a certain range of anthropometric measurements.

And also:

Physical anthropology defines Caucasoid with a pattern of physical traits typical of humans indigenous to an area centered on Europe, the Mediterranean, West Asia and South Asia. Populations near the edge of this area in North Africa show features transitional between Caucasoid and Negroid, while much of Central Asia shows features transitional between Caucasoid and Mongoloid.

So, this we will follow, and the poll again will be more and less general. (West Asia being Middle East and Turkey and Iran, South Asia being India and Sri-Lanca and Pakistan etc, Central Asia being Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan Afghanistan, North Africa being Arabic/Berberic countries). Europe will be more extended than others, to provide for titular Varangians and others . South India is divided by countries rather than enthnicities, for these are too numerous to be listed in the poll.

Before putting up the poll itself, I would like you to review the proposed poll and express your opinion with regards to its accuracy. The poll itself will be put up next Monday (once agreement is reached) or later if need be. Bear in mind that the poll allows for 10 poll questions only, so the groupings (and their mess up) are largely made with regards to that limitation.

*North Europe (Scandinavian-Germanic-Uralic)
*West Europe (Roman-Germanic)
*West Europe (Roman-Celtic)
*East Europe (Slavic-Germanic)
*East Europe (Slavic-Uralic)
*Mediterranean (Greek-Roman-Arabic)
*North Africa (Arabic-Berberic)
*West Asia (Arabic-Jew-Persian-Turki)
*Central Asia (Persian-Turki)
*South Asia (per countries – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hymalayan States)

[JennyHallu]

Will it be a poll with one or several options available? As a racially mish-mashed American (and that disease is spreading as the world shrinks ), I could fall anywhere within the first three categories. OK, maybe not the first...but it's confuzzling.

[Lalwendë]

I'd suggest either ask folks to pinpoint the one option which they most closely identify with or allow the option of multiple boxes - and have a link there explaining what each grouping means too. In the UK we are a real mixed bag racially speaking. I for one could go for the first three categories having a mixture of native Briton, Welsh, Irish, Manx and, looking far back, probably Norwegian Viking blood, and like most English people probably a bit of Saxon too, maybe even some Norman (that's only if one of my ancestors got lucky and married someone posh ). I suppose it depends how far back you want to go, if we all went really far back we'd all be the same wouldn't we?

I'm confusing things as ever....

[JennyHallu]

Oh drat, forgot Norman. Sorry Lalwende, we were posh. Some of us, anyway. Castles and knighthood and schtuff. Wish we were posh now.

[HerenIstarion]

I suppose it depends how far back you want to go, if we all went really far back we'd all be the same wouldn't we

M-mm... some Australopithecuses present, you think?

To be serious, though, I will surely allow for multiple choices (even if only for myself, having German grand granny and Ukrainian grandfather on mother's side). I have forgotten about Caucasus (in geographical sense, that is) here, though. I suppose the altered entry for Mediterranean will look like Greek-Roman-Arabic-Caucasus

[Formendacil]

Those options look fairly comprehensive... but I'm looking for Germanic-Celtic, which is probably CLOSEST to the truth (for me). Otherwise, I'd probably pick Roman-Germanic...