engleski

Morphological Variation in Middle Dalmatia, Croatia

Populations of Middle Dalmatian islands of Brač, Hvar, Korčula and the Pelješac peninsula have been the subject of long-term anthropological research of local biological and socio-cultural differentiation. This study extends to the most distant island of Vis and the Middle Dalmatian coastal belt. Using morphological data on 14 head and 24 body dimensions, it aims to further explore the interaction of historical, socio-cultural and biological factors in populations with various degrees of isolation. Relationships and divergence among populations were assessed at the level of whole island (peninsular, coastal) populations and at the level of regional populations. Extensive morphological diversity exists at both levels which is interpreted as deriving from different micro-evolutionary pressures at various levels of population subdivision. Morphological variation corresponds to migration history, differential geographic isolation and socio-cultural (linguistic) variation in the Middle Dalmatian area. The results confirm the strength of isolation in formation and maintenance of biological population differentiation.

morphological variation; population differentiation; Middle Dalmatia

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