Physical Anthropology of Finns

The Affinities of Finnish People

Feature Character Analysis of Blood Types O, A, and B.

Data from Max Planck Institute of Comparative Hereditary Biology

By O.K. Joronen

Physical Anthropology

Physical Anthropology compares various physical parameters between populations such as anatomical features, and other biological traits. In this study we have chosen blood types to do a short analysis to compare various groups of people. The data is useful in showing how specific genes vary between geographical areas. Blood types are useful because they can be easily quantified for analysis. Other features would require more time and fewer people could be analyzed in the same time period. Also the data is available from medical records. Much of this type of data was used in the early 1900's for racist purposes, but it can be useful for analyzing genetic variations in populations.

What the data shows

The data shows the distribution of blood types of various populations of humans for comparison. The variation in blood types from one location to another is explained by genetic drift, whereby genes flow between populations within a geographical area. Populations in one part of the world may have moved from another part thus contributing to the diversity of genes. Natural selection also accounts for the differential frequencies of genes. Each group with similar distributions of genes could be characterized as a micro-race for feature analytical purposes.

BLOOD TYPE

%O

%A

%B

Swedes

37.9

46.7

10.3

West Finns

34.1

41

18

East-Central Finns

29.7

44.2

18.1

Leningrad Russians

32

34

26

North Estonians

34.2

33.3

26.2

Wotyaks

32.1

35.5

20.7

Hungarians

36.1

41.8

15.9

Tungus

28.2

29.1

33.1

Lithuanians

32.6

36.2

24.2

Other Physical Features and Behavioral Traits of Finns

Physical Anthropology of the Finnish Stock concerns adaptations to the weather in the northern areas where the Finns live(d). The temperature gradient is colder in the northeasterly direction. Therefore the basal metabolic rate at which the body burns fuel to keep warm is relatively higher in that direction. A lot of the food is used just to keep warm, so a relaxed "peaceful" attitude was an adaptation to the northern climate over thousands of years. This helps to explain why the Finns are different from Slavs or Germans.

Slavs, originating from the south, had adapted to different forces over millennia. For this reason, they are not as laid back as Finns. Their animated behaviour reminds us of the Arabs or other southern Russian peoples.

Some Old Ideas of the Origin of Finns

The origin of the Finnish people was once thought to be Mongolia. Or they are thought to have migrated to Finland from the easterly direction. Who the Finns actually are has been misconstrued historically in many written texts.

Historians such as C. Kephart, who believed in the existance of races, (Races of Mankind, Their Origin and Migration) ignored linguistic data in classifying Uralic people. He referred to Finns as a "peaceful Ugrian" people, rather than Finno-Ugrians. He put the ancient habitation of the Finns further east than others, to the territory in central Asia north of the Sayan Mountains. This area lies basically between Lake Baikal and the headwaters of the Yenisei, Obi, and the Irtish Rivers. Further, he claimed the Finns produced metals such as gold, silver and copper, which were plentiful there, chiefly in the present provinces of Sayan and Kolyvan. He stated that repeated references to this metal-working culture in the Altai Mountains is found in the Finnish "Kalevala." He goes on to say that the Mongolians later took the gold by violence, in disregard of painted effigies of Griffins. To the north were other unwarlike tribes of Finno-Ugrians who were ancestors of the present Lapps, Samoyeds and related peoples along the Arctic Circle. Continued pressure from the Huns forced these people to migrate to the Urals by 650 BC, as far as the Yama River. To Kephart, the Finns exist as a small group who wandered in from the East. We know now that this is not accurate. But his views have obviously affected opinions since many still believe that the Finns came from Mongolia rather than having existed in the north between the Urals and Norway for millennia. This idea would give the Slavs just as much right to Finno-Ugric lands - if they weren't there first. His descriptions are more consistent with what we know of Hungarian travels to the east across the steppes on horseback. The Hungarians are a Uralic people but not very closely related to the Finns.

Here, Kephart claims, the Finns came into contact with Indoeuropean speaking Aryan people who lived close by "through the woods." Kephart believed that this is where the Finns got many of their western modes of word-building. He believed that the Finns arrived in Karelia by about 700 AD. Whether he realized that the area between the Urals and Norway was already inhabited by Finno-Ugrians long before 650 BC is not clear, but it is an interesting angle just the same and illustrates how skewed some earlier ideas of the Finns were.

About the Finnish character, Kephart said they are "deficient in energy, slow, lethargic, taciturn, and melancholy, but industrious, patient and faithful." He believed that the progress made by Finns is due to the infusion of more aggressive racial strains.

Selection of Finnish History and Literature

The Affinities of Finnish People
Feature Character Analysis of Blood Types O, A, and B. Data from Max Planck Institute of Comparative Hereditary Biology By O.K. Joronen Physical Anthropology Physical Anthropology compares various physical parameters between populations such as anatomical features, and other biological traits. In this study we have chosen blood types to do a short analysis to compare various groups of people. The data is useful in showing how specific genes vary between geographical areas. Blood types are useful because they can be easily quantified for analysis. Other features would require more time and fewer people could be analyzed in the same time period. Also the data is available from medical records. Much of this type of data was used in the early 1900's for racist purposes, but it can be useful for analyzing genetic variations in populations. What the data shows The data shows the distribution of blood types of various populations of humans for comparison. The variation in blood types from one location to another is explained by genetic drift, whereby genes flow between populations within a geographical area. Populations in one part of the world may have moved from another part thus contributing to the diversity of genes. Natural selection also accounts for the differential frequencies of genes. Each group with similar distributions of genes could be characterized as a micro-race for feature analytical purposes.
BLOOD TYPE	%O	%A	%B
Swedes	37.9	46.7	10.3
West Finns	34.1	41	18
East-Central Finns	29.7	44.2	18.1
Leningrad Russians	32	34	26
North Estonians	34.2	33.3	26.2
Wotyaks	32.1	35.5	20.7
Hungarians	36.1	41.8	15.9
Tungus	28.2	29.1	33.1
Lithuanians	32.6	36.2	24.2
Other Physical Features and Behavioral Traits of Finns Physical Anthropology of the Finnish Stock concerns adaptations to the weather in the northern areas where the Finns live(d). The temperature gradient is colder in the northeasterly direction. Therefore the basal metabolic rate at which the body burns fuel to keep warm is relatively higher in that direction. A lot of the food is used just to keep warm, so a relaxed "peaceful" attitude was an adaptation to the northern climate over thousands of years. This helps to explain why the Finns are different from Slavs or Germans. Slavs, originating from the south, had adapted to different forces over millennia. For this reason, they are not as laid back as Finns. Their animated behaviour reminds us of the Arabs or other southern Russian peoples. Some Old Ideas of the Origin of Finns The origin of the Finnish people was once thought to be Mongolia. Or they are thought to have migrated to Finland from the easterly direction. Who the Finns actually are has been misconstrued historically in many written texts. Historians such as C. Kephart, who believed in the existance of races, (Races of Mankind, Their Origin and Migration) ignored linguistic data in classifying Uralic people. He referred to Finns as a "peaceful Ugrian" people, rather than Finno-Ugrians. He put the ancient habitation of the Finns further east than others, to the territory in central Asia north of the Sayan Mountains. This area lies basically between Lake Baikal and the headwaters of the Yenisei, Obi, and the Irtish Rivers. Further, he claimed the Finns produced metals such as gold, silver and copper, which were plentiful there, chiefly in the present provinces of Sayan and Kolyvan. He stated that repeated references to this metal-working culture in the Altai Mountains is found in the Finnish "Kalevala." He goes on to say that the Mongolians later took the gold by violence, in disregard of painted effigies of Griffins. To the north were other unwarlike tribes of Finno-Ugrians who were ancestors of the present Lapps, Samoyeds and related peoples along the Arctic Circle. Continued pressure from the Huns forced these people to migrate to the Urals by 650 BC, as far as the Yama River. To Kephart, the Finns exist as a small group who wandered in from the East. We know now that this is not accurate. But his views have obviously affected opinions since many still believe that the Finns came from Mongolia rather than having existed in the north between the Urals and Norway for millennia. This idea would give the Slavs just as much right to Finno-Ugric lands - if they weren't there first. His descriptions are more consistent with what we know of Hungarian travels to the east across the steppes on horseback. The Hungarians are a Uralic people but not very closely related to the Finns. Here, Kephart claims, the Finns came into contact with Indoeuropean speaking Aryan people who lived close by "through the woods." Kephart believed that this is where the Finns got many of their western modes of word-building. He believed that the Finns arrived in Karelia by about 700 AD. Whether he realized that the area between the Urals and Norway was already inhabited by Finno-Ugrians long before 650 BC is not clear, but it is an interesting angle just the same and illustrates how skewed some earlier ideas of the Finns were. About the Finnish character, Kephart said they are "deficient in energy, slow, lethargic, taciturn, and melancholy, but industrious, patient and faithful." He believed that the progress made by Finns is due to the infusion of more aggressive racial strains.

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