Question

The tribal population in Andaman and Nicobar Islands belongs to the
A) Australoids
B) Caucasoids
C) Mongoloids
D) Negroids

Answer 1

Hint: It is believed that the tribes have arrived in the islands from Africa up to 60,000 years ago. The term has been used to refer to individuals and populations that share morphological and skeletal traits.

Complete answer:
Option (A) Australoids: They are found to have some primitive traits that indicate the survivals of some early Caucasoid varieties. This is the reason because of which these are considered as a sub-division of the Caucasoid racial stock. The Australian aborigines and the Pre-Dravidian or Australoid or Veddoid are the two major groups in which the Australoids have been divided.

Option (B) Caucasoids: The Caucasoid features are mainly available among the people from Europe, West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, North Africa, or the Horn of Africa. The group of these persons was referred to as "Caucasoid race" or Caucasian race.

Option (C) Mongoloids: Although their history has not yet been known clearly, still it has been believed that this type has emerged in the land of Central Asia. From there, the people perhaps spread in various directions. On the basis of their geographical distribution, the Mongoloids can be divided into four main subdivisions- The Classical or Central Mongoloid, the Arctic or Northern Mongoloid or Eskimoids, the Southern or Indo-Malayan Mongoloids and the American Indians.

Option (D) Negroids: In Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the tribal population belongs to the Negroids. The term has been used by forensic and physical anthropologists to refer to individuals and populations that have common morphological and skeletal traits. The Islands are home to four ‘Negrito’ tribes– the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and Sentinelese. It is believed that the ‘Negrito’ tribes have arrived in the islands from Africa up to 60,000 years ago.

Thus, the correct answer is option (D) Negroids.

Note: The population of the world can be divided into 4 major races, namely white/Caucasian, Mongoloid/Asian, Negroid/Black, and Australoid. This is on the basis of a racial classification made by Carleton S. Coon in 1962.