Dados Bibliográficos

Resumo

Four tribes of Arnhem Land were surveyed for dermatoglyphics; based on pattern intensity indices, total ridge‐counts, and a distance statistic combining the two, it was shown that the tribes can be arranged into western (Tiwi, Gunwinggu) and eastern ('Murngin' and Andilyaugwa) groups. This substantiates observations made on Arnhem Land by linguists and social anthropologists.From a survey of allele frequency traits of blood factors and P.T.C. tasting, distance statistics were computed between the four tribes. These confirmed the relative isolation of the extreme Arnhem Land tribes. Distance statistics were also computed between the four tribes and two Central Australian tribes, the Aranda and Wailbri. The Aranda and 'Murngin' were relatively close together agreeing with theories that the Aranda are derived from a not too remote southwards migration from north Arnhem Land, as supported by linguistic data.Correlations between the biological, geographical and linguistic distances were positive, and generally agreed with the expectation that socio‐cultural and linguistic barriers are important in regulating gene flow between populations. This study emphasizes the need to consider biological distances in association with ecological and socio‐cultural factors.

Referências Citadas