Dermatoglyphics of the Chorote Indians and their relationships with other inhabitants of the Gran Chaco

DEMARCHI DA, SEISDEDOS L

ANNALS OF HUMAN BIOLOGY

Taylor & Francis

Año: 1996 vol. 23 p. 363 - 373

0301-4460

The present report deals with the description of the digital and palmar dermatogliphics of a sample of 98 Chorote Indians, collected in the north of Argentina, in the Gran Chaco region.Bimanual dimorphism was observed in males and females, both in finger and in palmar variables. Significant differences between sexes appear only in digital ridge counts and in the combined incidence of the four pattern types showing the Chorote, in general, low sexual dimorphism.Univariate comparisons carried out with other tribes of the Gran Chaco (Chiriguano, Pilagá, Mataco, and Toba) indicate statistically significant differences with the Chorote, both in males and in females. The greatest differences were found in relation to the Mataco, who belong to the same linguistic family of the Chorote. Probable explanations for this disagreement are proposed.