engleski

Holistic insight into microevolution of Adriatic islanders - anthropogenetic approach

The study on the formation of population structure through microevolution requires the analyses of quite a few sets of different biological traits (polyfactorially determined: e.g., morphological, physiological, dermatogliphic, osteometric and monofactorially determined: e.g., erythrocyte antigens, isoenzymes, serum proteins, histocompatibility genes, DNA analyses, etc.) but a number of sociocultural features as well (e.g., local dialect, isonymy, reproductive and migration trends, causes and intensities of population mobility, demographic and epidemiological data, etc.). The understanding of the above mentioned processes are also facilitated by data on ecological conditions and pressures to which a population is constantly exposed. In this respect, it is indispensable to distinguish between the so-called "short-term" influences that cause consequentional adaptation through phenotypic plasticity and "long-term" ones that shape population structure by processes of genetic adaptation. To determine mechanisms by which (micro)evolutionary forces act in each particular population of interest (defined with respect to the traits under study, its biotope and mesologic pressures to which it is subject), anthropologists adopt the holistic analytic approach. It is, in fact, a starting point to understand, through the analyses such as "natural experiment", the interrelations and interactions between biological, cultural and social factors forming every human group.

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