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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Physical Anthropology and the Reconstruction of Recent Precolonial History in Africa, II: A Dermatoglyphic Survey from Kenya
Author:Rosa, Peter
Year:1987
Periodical:History in Africa
Volume:14
Pages:229-256
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:physical anthropology
historiography
Anthropology and Archaeology
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
History and Exploration
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3171839
Abstract:In volume 12 of this journal the author discussed the potential of physical anthropolgy for the reconstruction of precolonial history in Africa. In this sequel the onus is on trying to demonstrate in a limited way some of these possibilities through an empirical study. The study in question is a biological survey of Kenyan peoples which the author undertook in the early and mid-1970s. During this survey he obtained palm and finger prints from over 6,000 primary and secondary school children drawn from 60 population units (tribes and subtribes). The prints provided over 150 biological measures to compare the population units sampled and to analyse the biological patterns of differentiation. The dermatoglyphic evidence seems to show that, although there is considerable local differentiation caused by the dynamic interaction of local groups, the bulk of this interaction takes place within the same type of environment. This has enabled stable core population elements to persist and maintain their biological identity. Notes, ref.
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