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Demographic structure of a transplanted Tlaxcalan population in the Valley of Mexico
Halberstein, Robert A. Crawford, Michael H.
Halberstein, Robert A.
Crawford, Michael H.
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Abstract
This research explores the evolutionary consequences of the transplantation
and subsequent demographic adaptation of Cuanalan, a migrant population
in the Valley of Mexico. Through comparisons with historical and contemporary
populations from the area of origination—the state of Tlaxcala—an
attempt is made to reconstruct the demographic and evolutionary changes
which have occurred in the splinter population over the past four centuries.
Both demographic and preliminary genetic data indicate that Cuanalan is a
hybridized population. About two-thirds of marriages of Cuanalan-born individuals
are endogamous. Average number of liveborn children for prolific
women over 40 is 6.5. Since 1866, mean age at death in the community is
20.8 years, and the infant death rate is 30%. Major causes of death are respiratory
diseases, gastrointestinal disorders, and childhood infections. The
high variance in completed fertility and high pre-reproductive mortality indicate
a continuation of conditions making for the rapid action of natural
selection which have historically characterized Tlaxcalan populations. Genetic
drift was probably an important factor in the early differentiation of
the migrant population. The data suggest that the evolutionary divergence of
Cuanalan from the Tlaxcalan gene pool has been rapid and extensive.
Description
This is the published version, also available here: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41462806.
Date
1975-01-05
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Wayne State University Press
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Halberstein, Robert A. & Crawford, Michael H. "Demographic structure of a transplanted Tlaxcalan population in the Valley of Mexico." Human Biology. Vol, 47. Issue, 3. pp. 201-232.