Morphology, Serology, Dermatoglyphics, and Microevolution of Some Village Populations in Haiti, West Indies

During the spring of 1968 and 1969, a population genetics survey was conducted in four villages on the island of Grande Cayemites and the mainland town of Pestel, in Haiti, West Indies. The subjects were interviewed for demographic information, and 14 anthropometric measurements, finger and palm prints, and blood were taken on each person. The data were analyzed to study the gene distribution in terms of racial admixture from probable ancestral populations and to examine the genetic microdifferentiation among the different villages through drift, migration, etc. The genetic data confirm the history and appearance in indicating about 80% Negro ancestry with some French and less American Indian. Notable gene frequencies include 6.6% Su, 58% R°, and 2.3% Fva; Hb S ranged from 3.6% to 12%, possibly maintained by malaria. A new slow albumin variant, Albumin Cayemite, was discovered in the sample. The frequency of whorls and loops on the fingers, palmar patterns, and interdigitai\u27 areas reflect African ancestry. Biological distancess among the four island villages reflect their geographical distance. While showing little migration among themselves two of the island villages showed considerable in-migration from Pestel on the mainland. The villages probably originated from a homogeneous population with varying degrees of differentiation following marital isolation. Migration and admixture appear to be the major evolutionary factors re­sponsible for the general genetic pattern in the rural Haiti populations