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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

genetics, human diversity, Peru, cultural adoption

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Anthropology

Abstract

Anthropologists studying human diversity and distribution have long recognized that humans are the recipients of two major informational systems; one cultural and the other biological. Both these components of human diversity are inherited by organisms, be they individuals or populations, across spatial and temporal realms, and retain the ability to influence the behavior or continuance of the organism in terms of fitness. Similarly, the biological record can reflect cultural processes or transitions, such as migrations or disease, much as ethnographic studies can identify elements of cultural adoption, such as ideas or practices. In as much as these elements of culture and biology contribute to human development they are simultaneously interdependent mechanisms pertinent to the study of culture and the diversity of man. Biological research such as genetic studies have enabled researchers to investigate relationships between populations and better understand historical processes that influence or shape these relationships. This study reports genetic variation within Quechua villages of north-eastern Peru and provides historical factors that have contributed to these findings.

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