Evolutionary relationships among prehistoric human populations: an evaluation of facial morphometric data employing molecular based genealogies.

PEREZ, SERGIO IVAN; BERNAL, VALERIA; GONZALEZ, PAULA

HUMAN BIOLOGY

American Association of Anthropological Genetics, Wayne State University Press.

Lugar: San Antonio, USA.; Año: 2007 vol. 79 p. 25 - 50

0018-7143

The study of evolutionary relationships among human populations is fundamental to infer processes that determine their structure and history. Among the different data types used to infer such relationships molecular data, particularly nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, are preferred due to their high heritability and the low probably of changes during the development. However, although the reliability of relatedness patterns based on other traits as morphology is discussed, except in unusual circumstances most prehistoric populations remain within the domain of morphological study. Therefore, the primary goal of this study is to test the reliability of relatedness patterns constructed on the basis of craniometric data in a regional scale. In particular, we analyze samples from populations belonging to Chaco, Pampa and Patagonia regions of South America for which craniometric and molecular data are available. We compare a strongly supported relatedness pattern based on molecular data with the results obtained through landmark-based and semilandmark-based facial data. The matrices based on Euclidian distance for morphometric data and DA distances for molecular data were used to perform Principal Coordinate analyses and to obtain reticulograms. Finally, a Principal Component analysis of all individuals was performed with morphometric data. The results obtained indicate that ordination analyses yield to slight different results according to the morphometric data employed. However, the reticulograms obtained with both landmark-based and semilandmark-based data allow the separation of the Chubut samples from the Chaco samples, with the Pampa sample in between the others; this pattern is congruent with molecular-based analyses. In consequence, our results support that facial morphometric data allow the inference of the structure and history of the prehistoric populations for the studied region.