La classification raciale de l'Afrique du Nord au début du XIXe siècle (Early 19th-Century Racial Classifications in Northern Africa)
Cahiers d'Études Africaines, 33 (129):
19-36 (1993)Abstract
Most of those who wrote about 18th-century Northern Africa tried to classify inhabitants by using criteria of language, housing, physical traits, etc. By the 19th century, Arabs and Berbers were seen as two distinct groups; but there were still several classifications based on a variety of criteria. These systems, particularly those used in Algeria at the time of the 1830 French expedition, are examined, as well as the names used to identify population groups and the cultural or biological criteria underlying classifications. The texts in English, French, German, etc., that are reviewed have not been written by physical anthropologists. Though not directly concerned with classification problems, they shed light on the approach adopted by the 19th-century anthropologists who drew up taxinomies. Similarities and differences with the texts left by previous observers are pointed out.