Dermatoglyphics among the Mataco Indians of the Gran Chaco (Argentina)

DEMARCHI DA, MARCELLINO AJ

Newsletter of the American Dermatoglyphics Association

American Dermatoglyphics Association

Año: 1994 vol. 13 p. 29 - 34

The Gran Chaco is an extensive region that occupy part of Bolivia, Paraguay, and thenortheast of Argentina. It is the last refuge of some of the most primitive hunter-gatherer groupsof American Indians (1). Among the Chaco aboriginals are the Mataco, belonging to theMataco-Macá linguistic family.They subsist primarily through fishing, hunting and the gathering of algarroba pods andother wild products. Many migrate for employment on the sugar plantations, but on their ownpart they engage in agriculture to only a very limited extent (2).In most different studies of aboriginal populations, dermatoglyphics appear to be veryuseful as biological markers. The aim of this report is the presentation of dermatoglyphic datafrom a group of Mataco Indians living in the northeast of Argentina, as a little contribution to theanthropologic characterization of this tribe.