Turkic peoples

Turkic peoples are Northern and Central Eurasian peoples who speak languages belonging to the Turkic family of languages and which share in varying degrees, ethnic, cultural and historical traits. Even though many consider this term to be distinct from the term Turkish, growing use of term Turkish opposed to Turkic has been noted in the Turkish/Turkic world. Turkic languages belong to the Altaic language group and is one of the most geographically widespread in the world, spoken in a geography spanning from Europe to Siberia.

Physical appearance

Some historians consider "Turkic" as a linguistic categorization rather than a strict ethnic characterization. This is unsurprising since Turkic peoples often differ greatly from one another in physical appearance, reflecting the abundant migrations, conquests and settlements across Eurasia. Therefore the already considerable problems involved in any racial classification are made much more difficult in the case of the Turks.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The majority of Turkic peoples, from former Ottoman lands to western China and from the Siberian plains to central Iran, seem to possess physical features ranging from caucasoid to Eastern Asian/mongoloid, in varying degrees. Some have very light features, including blue eyes and blondish or reddish hair, others are distinctly asiatic.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In western Turkic lands, such as Turkey and Azerbaijan a great many people look "Mediterranean", having caucasoid features, dark hair and eyes, and olive skin. This is mostly attributable to the residual legacy of the Greco-Romans in Asia Minor, and also the Circassians, Jews, Assyrians, Arabs, Kurds etc. whom the Ottomans subjugated and were happy to intermarry. It may seem odd from a western perspective, to think of the Turks as a mongoloid or part-mongoloid people, however the artistic record does depict the early Ottomans being of asiatic countenance, with dark hair, light skin and mongoloid features. The type remains a prominent minority in modern Turkey.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Parallel but different patterns of diversity occur in central Asia, in the lands once host to the Silk Road; for many centuries the main route of trade between the West and China. The inhabitants of these regions can exhibit extremes of racial phenotype from caucasoid to mongoloid, with probable admixtures of Persian, Jewish, Arab, Indian and Chinese, yet remaining culturally homogenous. Light skin, hair and eyes, along with a mongoloid facial structure, is prevalent among some Northern Central Asian Turkic groups, such as Kazakhs and Kyrgyzs, although dark hair and light to light brown skin tends to be the norm.

Related Topics:
Kazakhs - Kyrgyzs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In areas of significant Russian influence, a Slavic admixture is also common.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There has been much debate about the racial nature of the original Turkic speaking ancestors, with some presuming a "Ural-Altaic race" that shares predominantly caucasoid features at one end of the spectrum, and predominantly mongoloid features at the other. It is however widely accepted that Turkic roots are Altaic, i.e. originating in the Altay mountain region which spans present day Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan and it may be that they have less relation to the Uralic (eg. Magyar) peoples than previously thought.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In recent times linguists have tended to separate the old Ural-Altaic language group in two. Turkic langages now sit alongside Korean and Mongolian, but distinct from Finnish and Hungarian. The tribes inhabiting the Altay region today, with least incursion from Russians and Chinese are of predominantly asiatic/mongoloid appearance and of light, though not white skin tone and this is perhaps the best clue available as to the appearance of the original Turkic ancestors. In stature they are stocky and do not tend to be as tall as Europeans.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Currently, large-scale detailed DNA research to establish genetic genealogies of Turkic peoples are scant. Evidently today a great number of Turks do not share this genetic phenotype. Genetic studies performed in four towns across modern Turkey have demonstrated the dilution of the Turkic strain. Only around 30% of those studied possessed a gene marker relating them to a central Asian (i.e. Turkic) ancestor, yet all those studied were Turkish citizens.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Turkic identity, therefore, exists on two levels. On one it is a race of (mainly mongoloid) people from central Asia. On another it is like an ocean current, spreading and mingling with far-flung waters and giving rise to a shared history, language and cultural values transcending genes and racial categorisation.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~