The Pontid race:

There are various descriptions of the Pontid race. It is commonly seen to be a Mediterranid subtype with its largest concentration in South-Eastern Europe. This type is considered to be transitional to Dinarid in the southwest, Gorid (Eastern Alpinid) in the west, Baltid in the northwest, and other types in the east. The main characteristics of Pontids are:
- Dark hair. A kind of dark reddish hair is also found among Pontians
-Dark (black) to light (green, blue) eye colour
-Gracile skull construction with smooth facial features
-Narrow forehead
-Somewhat narrow eyes
-Most commonly ectomorph of the biotype
-Convex face

Some anthropologists equate the Pontid type to the western Atlanto-Mediterranid type. The Pontid type is the eastern equivalent of Atlanto-Mediterranid, but the two types are not identical, as Atlanto-Mediterranid does occur in various frequencies throughout South-Eastern Europe and is distinct from Pontid, owing to different influence in both types.

Pontids are found in their greatest concentration on the northern, northeastern, and western shores of the Black Sea, after which they are named: Pontus Euxinus is the ancient name for the Black Sea. Pontid has been known under names such as 'Pontic Mediterranean', 'Cherkess', and 'Ryazan type'. In the Balkans, and especially in Serbia, Greece, Albania, and Romania, the Pontid type that occurs is heavily influenced by local types such as Dinarid, East Mediterranid, Carpathid, and East Alpinid.

The origin of the Pontid type has not yet been determined by anthropologists, but the probable origin lies in the eastern extremity of the Pontic Steppe, in the region north of the Caucasus. The first people of this race may have been the Kimmerians - the type may have been brought into Anatolia and the Balkans by Kimmerian invasions. The Pontid type is found throughout the Kurganian Cultures of the Pontic-Caspian Steppe, and based on grave finds, Pontids served as the warrior castes of the Scythians and Sarmatians, while the rulers were predominantly East (Corded) Nordid.

The Circassians, Abazins, Abkhaz, Ossetians, Southern Russians, Black Sea Ukrainians, Cossacks, Karaites and Karaims, Volga and Mishar Tatars, Turks, Chuvash, Moldovans, Souther Poles, Hungarians, and Bulgarians have numbers of Pontids in their populations, indicating that there are descendants of Kimmerians, Scythians, Sarmatians, and other nomadic tribes