Von Luschan's chromatic scale

Von Luschan's chromatic scale (VLS) is a method of classifying skin color. It is also called the von Luschan scale or von Luschan's scale. It is named after its inventor, Felix von Luschan. The equipment consists of 36 opaque glass tiles which were compared to the subject's skin, ideally in a place which would not be exposed to the sun (such as under the arm). The von Luschan scale was used to establish racial classifications of populations according to skin color; in this respect it is in contrast to the Fitzpatrick scale intended for the classification of the skin type of individuals introduced in 1975 by Harvard dermatologist Thomas B. Fitzpatrick to describe sun tanning behavior.[2]

Not to be confused with Lüscher color test.
Map of human skin color distribution for native populations, by R. Biasutti in the von Luschan's chromatic scale for classifying skin color. It was reported that for areas with no data Biasutti simply filled in the map by extrapolation from findings obtained in other areas.[1]
Skin colors according to von Luschan's chromatic scale

The von Luschan scale was used extensively throughout the first half of the 20th century in race studies and anthropometry. However, the results were inconsistent: in many instances, different investigators would give different readings of the same person. The von Luschan scale was largely abandoned by the early 1950s, replaced with methods utilizing reflectance spectrophotometry.

The following table shows the 36 categories of the von Luschan scale in relation to the six categories of the Fitzpatrick scale:[3][4]

Fitzpatrick typevon Luschan scaleAlso called
I0–6Very light or white, "Celtic" type[5]
II7–13Light or light-skinned European[5]
III14–20Light intermediate, or dark-skinned European[5]
IV21–27Dark intermediate or "olive skin"[5]
V28–34Dark or "brown" type
VI35–36Very dark or "black" type

References
  1. Jablonski. The Evolution of Human Skin Color (PDF). p. 600.
  2. Fitzpatrick TB: Soleil et peau [Sun and skin]. Journal de Médecine Esthétique 1975; 2:33-34
  3. Nina Jablonski, Michael P. Muehlenbein (ed.) (2010). Human Evolutionary Biology. Cambridge University Press. p. 177. ISBN 0521879485. Retrieved 24 May 2016.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  4. "Fitzpatrick Skin Type" (PDF). Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  5. these are commonly encountered names for the types, e.g. US Army "Healthy Skin Campaign" Archived 2009-08-15 at the Wayback Machine goldnbrown.co.uk Archived 2011-04-12 at the Wayback Machine, hautzone.ch

Further reading
  • von Luschan F (1897). Beiträge zur Völkerkunde der Deutschen Schutzgebieten. Berlin: Deutsche Buchgemeinschaft.
  • von Luschan F (1927). Völker, Rassen, Sprachen : Anthropologische Betrachtungen. Berlin: Deutsche Buchgemeinschaft.
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