engleski

Model-bound and model-free Approach in holistic analysis of population structure

Within the framework of holistic anthropological analysis of population stucture, various measures of biological distances (anthropometrical, physiological, odonthometric and dermatoglyphic), socio-cultural (linguistic) and bio-cultural distances (kinship coefficient estimated from migrational data) between the nine rural populations of Selška Valley, Slovenia were calculated. The model-bound (Malecot"s isolation by distance) and model-free approach (analysis of the structure of rank-correlation matrices among different distance measures) were applied. The results revealed a very poor "fit" of the analyzed traits to the isolation by distance model, with the exception of migrational kinship in females. However, factor analysis over distance matrices outlined three important distinctions: (a) that of geographic distance and of migrational kinship in females, as the only variable that behaves as expected to isolation by distance model, from all the other analyzed traits ; (b) a clear distinction of female anthropometric, dermatoglyphic and physiological traits, along with linguistic distances, from the corresponding traits in males ; (c) a separation inside male polygenic system traits on dermatoglyphic, physiological and anthropometric traits, a finding that was not present in females. The authors discuss and compare the application of model-bound and model-free approaches in the study of population structure, stressing the dependence of the rate of (micro)evolutionary processes upon the historical processes that favored or restricted the gene flow.

population structure; biological distances; linguistic distances; migrational kinship; isolation by distance; factor analysis; population genetics; anthropology

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