Isolation and marriage patterns in four South Tyrolean villages (Italy) during the nineteenth century

No information is currently available on the marriage patterns of German-speaking communities of the South Tyrol area. The aim of this study is to investigate the reproductive isolation of four South Tyrolean mountain villages during the 19th century. Data about 3953 marriages were drawn from existing pedigrees and completed with data from the parish registers of the studied villages to calculate the following indicators: age at marriage, endogamy, inbreeding from dispensations and from isonymy and repeated pairs of surnames among couples. The results show high levels of endogamy (78-87%) and an elevated age at marriage in all the studied villages. The percentages of consanguineous marriages (10-33%) vary considerably but result overall in relatively low inbreeding values (alpha 0.0015-0.0036; Ft 0.0098-0.0138). Levels of endogamy are consistent with the geographic characteristics of the area, while inbreeding values are lower than those observed in previous studies on Alpine communities. This is due to a low frequency of marriages between close relatives, probably related to the peculiar demographic and cultural characteristics of the studied populations that differentiate them from neighbouring Italian-speaking villages.     

Inverted Y chromosome polymorphism in the Gujerati Muslim Indian population of South Africa

Summary An inverted Y chromosome has been found at a very high frequency in a Muslim Indian community living in the Johannesburg-Witwatersrand area of the Transvaal Province of South Africa: 8 of 141 (5.7%) retrospectively identified Indian males had an inv(Y)(p11.2q11.23) and all were of the Muslim faith. The inversion was found in 22 of 72 (30.5%) prospectively studied normal Muslim Indian males. All the carriers of the inversion were Gujarati-speakers whose families migrated to the Transvaal from the Gujerat Province of India during the first half of this century. The origins of the ancestors of the individuals with inv(Y) were traced to a small village, Kholvad, near the city of Surat, and some neighbouring villages. The polymorphic frequency of the inv(Y) has probably been produced through random genetic drift in a reproductively isolated community, maintained by strict endogamous marriage customs based on religious and linguistic affiliations. There was no indication that the inverted Y was associated with any reproductive disadvantages.     

Marriage trends in the Italo-Greeks of Italy

The Italo-Greek ethnolinguistic minority, living in thirteen villages of southern Italy, marry largely amongst themselves but there are some intermarriages with native Italians. The majority of marriages are within the villages, but there is some marriage movement from one Italo-Greek village to another. Data on marriage and birthplace of parents and grandparents obtained by questionnaires to families of primary school children (aged 6-13 years) are analysed, to show the trends in breakdown of isolation over the last two generations.     

Seasonality of marriages in sardinian pastoral and agricultural communities in the nineteenth century

The study of marriage seasonality of populations with different socioeconomic backgrounds may contribute to the better understanding their reproductive behaviours. This study analyses the monthly distribution of marriages in the 19th century in four agricultural villages and four pastoral villages on the island of Sardinia (Italy). The data were derived from 7340 marriage acts (3571 for the four agricultural villages and 3769 for the four pastoral villages). The aim is to ascertain whether the Sardinian agricultural and pastoral communities followed the matrimonial models reported for contemporary Italy and Europe and whether there was a change in the monthly distribution of marriages between the two halves of the 19th century. The results suggest that the marriage seasonality of the Sardinian farmers and shepherds was very similar to the patterns shown in the 19th century by Italian and European agricultural and pastoral communities. The Sardinian farmers preferred to marry in autumn-winter, while the Sardinian shepherds had a very high concentration of marriages in summer-autumn. Both communities avoided marriages in the Advent and Easter periods and in the month of May (dedicated to the Virgin Mary), and the farmers also in August (also dedicated to the Virgin Mary). Despite a certain seasonal stability, there was a significant change in the monthly distribution of marriages between the two halves of the 19th century in both the agricultural and pastoral communities, probably due to a series of laws that transformed the centuries-old socioeconomic system of Sardinia in the second half of the century.     

Distribution of the group specific (Gc) serum component in the populations of the Markham Valley, New Guinea

The distribution of the Gc phenotypes was determined by immunoelectrophoresis amongst 486 inhabitants of nine villages of the Markham River Valley of New Guinea. The overall gene frequencies were Gc¹, 0.538; Gc², 0.351; Gc^Aborigine, 0.112. Gc^Aborigine occurred in all the villages, its frequency ranging from 0.041 to 0.187. The Gc² gene frequency also varied widely ranging from 0.167 to 0.491. No correlation could be found between altitude and the Gc distribution and there was an overlap in the gene frequencies between the Austronesian and non-Austronesian-speaking villages.     

Coefficient of relationship by isonymy between 14 Sardinian villages in the periods 1800-1824 and 1950-1974

Lasker's coefficient of relationship was calculated between 14 villages in Sardinia in order to estimate biological relationships on the base of common surnames. The data derive from parish marriage registers for the periods 1800-1824 and 1950-1974. Through time, coefficients of relationship between villages are generally higher for neighbouring villages. Moreover, the Ri between values decreases as the geographic distances increase. The negative Pearson product-moment correlation observed between the Ri matrix and the geographic distance matrix is statistically significant (Mantel's test) for the two periods considered. These results suggest that the biological similarity between villages, as shown by isonymy, tends to decrease as the geographic distance increases. In addition, the plots of isonymic relationships obtained by nonmetric multidimensional scaling for 1800-1824 and 1950-1974 show that the biological relationships between neighbouring villages increase in the second period considered.     

Demographic Dimensions of an Intervillage Land Dispute in Nubri, Nepal

The demographic basis for a land dispute between two Tibetan villages in Nubri, Nepal, is examined in relation to family systems. Despite close proximity and sociocultural ties, the villages experience divergent population growth rates resulting from different frequencies of marriage. In one, old-age security concerns induce parents to retain female labor within the household by designating daughters to be nuns, a practice that has the unintended consequence of limiting aggregate population growth by barring many women from marriage and reproduction. In the other village the slightly different family system results in fewer nuns, faster population growth, and a need for more land. Comparisons with family systems and demographic outcomes in Europe and Asia reveal this to be a case in which preventive checks can exist in a context of early marriage and high marital fertility and demonstrate how concerns for old-age security can act as a restraint on aggregate fertility. [ Tibetans, family systems, demography, religious celibacy ]     

Marital coitus across the life course

It remains unclear whether the frequency of marital coitus does in fact decline universally across the life course, what shape that decay normally takes, and what best accounts for it: increasing marriage duration, women's age or age of their partners. Using cross-sectional Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data of 91,744 non-abstaining women in their first marriage, a generalized linear model is used to determine if there is a consistent pattern in the life course pattern of degradation in the frequency of marital coitus. Datasets were drawn from nineteen countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas. Use of very large samples allows proper disentangling of the effects of women's age, husband's age and marital duration, and use of samples from multiple countries allows consideration of the influence of varied prevailing fertility regimes and fertility-related practices on life course trajectories. It is found that declining coital frequency over time seems a shared demographic feature of human populations, but whether marriage duration, wife's age or husband's age is most responsible for that decline varies by country. In many cases, coital frequency actually increases with women's age into their thirties, once husband's age and marriage duration are taken into account, but in most cases coital frequency declines with husband's age and marital duration.     

Determinants of coital frequency among married women in Central African Republic: the role of female genital cutting

This paper examines determinants of one aspect of sexual behaviour--coital frequency--among 2,188 married women in the Central African Republic using a secondary analysis of data from the Demographic and Health Survey of 1994-95. Female genital cutting (or circumcision) is practised in the Central African Republic and self-reported circumcision status was included in the questionnaire enabling it to be examined as a possible determinant of coital frequency. Multiple logistic regression was used to find a subset of factors independently associated with coital frequency. Decreased coital frequency was found in those who had longer duration of marriage, those who were not the most recent wife in a polygamous marriage and those who had more surviving children. Coital frequency was higher in more educated women and those not contracepting because they wanted to get pregnant. After adjusting for confounders no association between female genital cutting and coital frequency was found. The extent to which women can control coital frequency in this culture is not known and fertility desires may override any negative effects of circumcision on sexual pleasure. It was therefore not possible to draw conclusions about how female genital cutting affects a woman's desire for sexual intercourse and consequently there is a need to develop research methods further to investigate this question.     

Properdin factor B polymorphism in four Sardinian villages

A sample of healthy unrelated individuals was typed for properdin factor B (Bf) polymorphism in four Sardinian villages. Two villages, Desulo and Tonara, are located in the highlands; the other two, Orosei and Galtellì, are located in the lowlands. No heterogeneity was found between the highland and the lowland villages, whereas a significant difference was found between the Sardinian villages and continental Italy. The allele Bf-F1 shows the highest gene frequency so far observed. Typically Sardinian is the gametic association (haplotype) HLA-A30, Cw5, B18, BfF1, DR3.     

Population genetics of the inhabitants of Northern European USSR. I. Data on the structure of 6 villages in Archangel Oblast]

The paper deals with two demographic characteristics of 6 villages in the Archangelsk Region of the RSFSR (river Peosa region) significant from the genetical standpoint. These data were obtained by means of the examination of 843 persons (75,07% of the total number of inhabitants) and of the analysis of complete list of inhabitants permanently living in the villages studied. The proportion of the reproductivity age class was 28.94%, the numbers of men and woman among them being about equal. The average number of children per family in families that have already completed their reproductive period was 3.87, the variance being 4.51 (the data obtained on the basis of examination of over 90 families). The average age of marriage was established to be about 24 years, the duration of each generation being about 32 years. The average index of endogamy per village was observed to be 58.40%, the contribution of the gametes of the preceding generation per village being 72.86%. The migrational influx of gametes from other localities per total of 6 villages was 2.52%. It was shown by the comparison of the character of migrations with mathematical models that the matrix migrational model is the most adequate one.     

The influence of cultural factors on the demography and pattern of gene flow from the Makiritare to the Yanomama Indians

A single village of Yanomama Indians was found to have frequencies of Di^a of 0.06 and of Ap^a of 0.08, in contrast to 40 other villages whereDi^a was absent and Ap^a quite rare. The source of these genes was identified as a village of Makiritare Indians, but the two allele frequencies were approximately the same or even higher in the Yanomama than in the Makiritare village. Demographic, social and cultural parameters affecting marriage and reproduction in the two tribes explain this. Genealogical relationships and informants' accounts collected in the field, when viewed against the traditional marriage practices, reproductive advantages of headmen, and differential treatment of captured women, indicate that the mating and reproduction parameters inherent in tribal social organization of this kind constitute an essential part of the explanation of the genetic findings. It is argued that mating systems of this sort are such that the probability of a new gene introduced by a captive surviving in the recipient population is a function of the sex of the initial carrier. The implications for tribalization and potentially radical changes in allele frequencies are briefly explored by considering aspects of settlement pattern and population fissioning known to characterize the tribes in question. Finally, it is shown that genetic sampling from a single location can and does result in unrepresentative allele frequencies when this single sample is taken to characterize the tribe as a whole.     

Conscripts And Christians: Representing Kinship And Affinity In The Carnian Alps

The theory of exchange marriage has had a rather limited impact on the anthropology of Europe. Its relevance to European ethnography might increase if it were extended to include representations of marriage exchange between generational groups. An analysis of collective celebrations of kinship and courtship suggests that they express the principles of exchange marriage in a way that fits the corporate structure of many European villages. The celebrations draw on ecclesiastical and military symbolism, and the analysis has implications for our understanding of the relationship between popular attitudes to the Church, local community, and state. The results confirm the fruitfulness of combining interpretative and formal approaches to kinship analysis.     

Marriage and contraception among the Pare of northern Tanzania

The purpose of the research reported here is to examine the connection between contraception and those aspects of a woman's position that are related to her marriage. The research was conducted in two villages among the Pare of northern Tanzania where a shift from hoe cultivation as primary occupation to wage labour has brought about major changes in social relations. The major hypothesis is that a change from a 'traditional' marital union to a 'companionate' marriage is instrumental in the acceptance of contraception and in lowering fertility. The latter type of relationship between marital partners is related to the status of women. The research methodology consisted of a combination of an ethnographic study, demographic surveys and in-depth interviews. Findings show that approximately half of the women in this community ever used contraception. Of current users, a third are sterilized and half are using a modern reversible method. The determining factor for using modern reversible methods is the nature of the conjugal union.     

Differential fertility depending on the age of puberty

229 women, aged 41 to 60 years, belonging to five villages from Maramures, were divided into three groups, according to their type of puberty (early, median, delayed). We found a higher degree of fertility in the women of early puberty than in those of delayed puberty. The slight age difference in marriage recorded only in the group of delayed puberty cannot account for the big difference found in the three groups of women in respect to the number of children. In the past, a positive correlation between fertility and mortality limited the descendants born from women of early puberty (i.e. the selective value). At present, in the absence of differential mortality the differential fertility related to the type of puberty offers new means for explaining some aspects of the acceleration of the age of puberty.     

Marital mores as a mechanism for the maintenance of ethnic variations of lethal gene frequencies.

A computer simulation model was developed to study the effects of various marital mores on the incidence of lethal autosomal recessive genes in populations that are subdivided into small isolates. The problem was studied in isolates where initial generation size was 30, 40, and 50 individuals. In each of these, the mean fertility rate was varied from 2.3 to 2.7 surviving (to adulthood) children per couple whose marriage had been contracted in accordance with the prevailing convention: marriage between first cousins and siblings prohibited; marriage between siblings prohibited; marriage allowed between any individuals; marriage prohibited between siblings but encouraged between cousins; and marriage encouraged between siblings. In all cases, the mean gene frequency in generation 20 was lower than that predicted by the deterministic model with random mating in an unsubdivided population of infinite size, due to gene loss through random drift (to zero) in many of the isolates. The mores that encouraged consanguineous marriages had the lowest final lethal-gene frequencies. Random mating produced intermediate values, and the restrictive mores, the highest final frequencies. The deterministic model (assuming infinite population size and random mating) predictions of the final gene frequency were exceeded only if there was reproductive compensation. It is concluded that restrictive marital mores significantly reduce the selective pressures on lethal recessive genes in small isolates, but that this is counteracted by the increased rate of gene loss through random drift.     

The effects of chronic radiation exposure on the frequency of mutations at minisatellite DNA loci in residents of the Techa Riverside Villages

The frequency of mutations at eight minisatellite DNA loci (B6.7, CEB1, CEB15, CEB25, CEB 36, MS1, MS31 and MS32) in peripheral blood cells were assessed for exposed residents of the Techa riverside villages as a function of individual exposure doses. The frequency of minisatellite mutations was found to be significantly higher in male gametes than in female ones; no clear-cut dose-effect relationship was traced. There was no evidence of dependence of mutation frequency on exposure dose rates in the year of conception, the offspring's intrauterine red bone marrow dose and soft tissues doses.     

Recent increase of the exogamy rate in the Greek ethno-minority of Italy

In a study of the Greek ethno-linguistic community of Italy (nine villages in Apulia and four in Calabria) marriage data was obtained through direct interviews of 1653 families of primary school students (6–13 years old). The information collected consisted of the birth place of parents and grandparents of each informant. The data demonstrated that in the last generation an increase of intermarriage with native Italian speaking individuals occurred both in Apulia and Calabria (Apulia: grandparents 15.7%vs parents 33.5%; Calabria: grandparents 15.2%vs parents 31.9%).     

The effect of marriage migration on the genetic structure of the Taimyr Nganasan population: genealogical analysis inferred from MtDNA markers

The marriage structure of Nganasans during the time period from 1796 to 1991 and genealogy of carriers of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes was studied in a sample of 280 individuals. It was shown that, from the beginning of its formation to the late 1970s, the population exhibited high endogamy (1976, 83.8%; 1926, 88.4%; 1976, 74.3%). The main source of traditional marriage migration (preferentially female) was populations of Entsy and, indirectly, Nentsy. Intense assimilation of Nganasans by the immigrant population, and to a lesser extent, by Dolgans, in the second half of the 20th century resulted in a reduction of endogamy index in Avam Nganasans to 42.5% by 1991. Assimilation by the immigrants was predominantly paternal, promoting preservation of the historically formed genetic diversity of the Nganasan mitochondrial gene pool. Genealogical analysis of mtDNA haplotypes showed that a relatively high total frequency of Western Eurasian mtDNA haplogroups (20.4%) in the Mongoloid (according to anthropological type) Nganasan population is explained not only by the common ethnic origin with Entsy and Nentsy, but also by direct marriage migration from the Entsy population and indirect marriage migration, from the Nentsy population. This migration led to accumulation of Entsy-Nentsy maternal lineages in the genealogy of Avam Nganasans (38.9% of the total number). Of all mtDNA haplotypes, 28.6% were introduced to Avam Nganasans by female Entsy and Nentsy, whereas the total frequency of these haplotypes was 0.204. Genetic diversity of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes was 0.935.