In the context of forensic anthropology and censuses, Caucasian is a specific combination of physical attributes, especially white skin. In the USA, Canada, and Australia, Caucasian is commonly used to refer to light-complexioned people indigenous to, or descended from Europe, northern Africa, southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. In the racial classification developed by 19th-century anthropologists, Caucasian (or Caucasoid) included peoples whose skin colour ranged from light (in northern Europe) to dark (in parts of North Africa and India). Although the classification is outdated and the categories are now not generally accepted as. Caucasian definition, (no longer in technical use) of, relating to, or characteristic of one of the traditional racial divisions of humankind, marked by fair to dark skin, straight to tightly curled hair, and light to very dark eyes, and originally inhabiting Europe, parts of North Africa, western Asia, and India. T he word “Caucasian” is used in the U.S. To describe white people, but it doesn’t indicate anything real. It’s the wrong term to use!

Historical Anthropological Evolution

In early attempts at racial classification, skin pigmentation was regarded as the main difference between the races. The term 'Caucasian race' was coined in 1785 by Christoph Meiners, a German philosopher. Meiners recognized two races — the Caucasian or beautiful, and the Mongolian or ugly. According to his classification, the caucasian race encompassed the native populations of Europe, the aboriginal inhabitants of West Asia, the autochthones of Northern Africa, and Indians.

Anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach took racial classification further and divided humans into five races based on skin color — Caucasian (the 'white race'), Mongoloid (the 'yellow race'), Malayan (the 'brown race'), Ethiopian (the 'black race'), and American (the 'red race').

Physical traits of caucasians

Blumenbach tried to justify his classification with scientific terminology, cranial measurements, and facial features. Caucasoid traits he noted were:

• thin nasal aperture ('nose narrow'),
• a small mouth,
• facial angle of 100°–90°, and
• orthognathism,

Later anthropologists recognized other Caucasoid morphological features, such as

• prominent supraorbital ridges
• a sharp nasal sill.
• minimal protrusion of the lower part of the face (little or no prognathism).
• Retreating cheekbones, making the face look more 'pointed'.
• Narrow nasal aperture, with a tear-shaped nasal cavity (nasal fossa).

Caucasians are not always white; skin color amongst Caucasians varies widely — from pale, reddish-white, olive, or even dark brown tones. Hair color and texture varies too, with wavy hair the most common.

Legal Context

The Naturalization Act of 1906 stipulated that only 'free white persons' and 'aliens of African nativity and persons of African descent' were allowed by law to become U.S. citizens by naturalization.

In 1922 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Takao Ozawa, a Japanese-American man, was ineligible for naturalization. In issuing the ruling, the court defined 'white person':

the words 'white person' were meant to indicate only a person of what is popularly known as the Caucasian race.

In 1923, the Supreme Court ruled on a similar case where Bhagat Singh Thind, a Sikh Indian man was seeking naturalization. He argued that as an 'high-caste Hindu' he was a member of the caucasian race. His arguments were anthropologically sound, highlighting the linguistic ties between Indo-Aryan speakers and Europeans.

Caucasian Definition Francais

But the court rejected his argument, saying that authorities on the subject of race were in disagreement over which people were included in the scientific definition of the Caucasian race.

the words 'free white person' in the naturalization act were 'synonymous with the word ‘Caucasian’ only as that word is popularly understood,' pointing out that the statutory language was to be interpreted as 'words of common speech and not of scientific origin, . . . written in the common speech, for common understanding, by unscientific men.

White Caucasian Definition

Caucasian Definition And Origin

References