Mongolian

Mongolian, also called Mongoloid, human subpopulation, whose present centre of concentration is East Asia (China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Mongolia, large parts of Siberia, and most of south-eastern Asia). The characteristic physical features of this population include medium-brown skin, straight brown-black hair, brown eyes, and relatively high frequencies of what is termed the epicanthic fold (the skin fold in the inner corner of the eye that gives it an almond shape). Many less visible genetic features, including relatively high percentages of genes for type B blood, also characterize East Asians.

In parts of south-eastern Asia, the people possess somewhat different physical features reminiscent of neighbouring human populations, so that, as elsewhere, no distinct boundaries are discernible among different racial groups.

Native American peoples have also generally been considered a wide-ranging branch of Mongolians. Most Native Americans have straight, dark hair, medium skin colours, and other traits that link them to East Asia. On the other hand, in the genetics of blood types, the Native Americans differ from East Asians, attesting to the many generations of biological evolution since their ancestors crossed over from Siberia to North America. The far northern peoples—the Aleuts and Inuit—are more like their counterparts in north-eastern Asia, suggesting that these peoples arrived in the Americas more recently than other Native American groups.