Throughout time, the origins of the Caucasian people have been the subject of much debate. There are a number of different factors that go into determining the peoples’ origins, including language, religion, genetic ancestry, skin and eye tones, and geography. It is important to know some of the key facts about these peoples’ origins so that you can better understand them and appreciate their culture.
Religions in the Caucasus
Traditionally, the Caucasian people have had a strong tribal organization. They have often been more loyal to their clans than to the state. Traditional religions have often involved the worship of sacred mountains. Several minority religions still exist in the Caucasus.
The first Arab invaders appeared in eastern Transcaucasia in the seventh century. They introduced Islam only superficially. The area was largely untouched by Islam until the tenth century. During this period, a struggle against infidels led to Islam becoming the dominant religion.
In the northern Caucasus, Crimean Tatars attempted to introduce Islam to pagan tribes. The Muslim rulers tended to follow the example of their suzerains. However, in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Nogai Horde, a Jewish prince related to the Khazar khagan, played an important role in the Islamization of the area.
Genetic ancestry
‘Caucasian’ is a contested term that has been used to describe European populations in nearly 5,000 biomedical papers since 2010. It has no scientific basis and has been used without consideration of its racist roots. It is used in the US Census to erase cultural identities.
‘Caucasian’ has become the standard term for European populations in biomedical research. It is used in genetic ancestry tests as a marketing ploy for discovery.
While a genetic ancestry test is an impressive piece of research, the results can be unsettling. Several studies have shown that non-white DNA is present in both males and females. In many cases, the DNA is not passed down through the generations.
While some people may be happy with their African ancestry, others are not. Many African-Americans are gutted by the reminder of slavery.
Languages
Among the ten million or so people who live in the Caucasus Mountains, there are several language communities. Among them are those that use the Georgian or Cyrillic alphabet. Others use Arabic scripts or other scripts. However, most languages are endangered, and there are only a few that have official recognition.
Most languages have a similar subject-object-verb word order. They use ergative constructions, which are similar to English, and rounded consonants are common. Many of them have a long history of borrowing from other languages. Some have a strong literary tradition, and there are many ancient monuments inscribed in the Georgian alphabet.
These languages are divided into three families. These families are the Kartvelian or South Caucasian, the North-West Caucasian, and the North-East Caucasian. These families have 50 languages.
Skin tones
Historically, colour calibration methods have excluded non-Caucasian skin tones. However, modern colour calibration methods have expanded the range of skin tones that can be used in calibrations.
The GRACoL 2013 ICC colour profile sets a baseline for printable colours on standard offset lithographic press. This allows for the comparison of skin tones between different illuminants and illuminants of different colour temperatures. The profile also helps to explain why skin tones might be out of the gamut.
Skin tones are defined as the neutral colours found in the middle of the colour wheel. These are yellow and blue. The colours of skin tones can vary depending on the time of year and the amount of sun exposure. These colours are known as base colours and are used in conjunction with other colours to create a believable skin tone.
Eye tones
During the nineteenth century, researchers began to classify eye tones. They started with a small subset of colours and eventually moved to computer generated classifications.
Eye colour is a complex genetic trait, involving the interaction of several genes. It also involves hormonal changes during puberty and early childhood. It also can change in response to emotional, chemical and physical stress.
The two most common eye colours are brown and blue. Blue eyes account for eight to ten percent of the world’s population. However, these eye colours are not the only ones. Some people have grey eyes or hazel eyes.
People with grey eyes have little to no melanin in their irises. They also have more collagen in their stroma. Gray eyes are also common in South Asia and Central Asia.