Book

Semai Senoi population structure and genetic microdifferentation

University Microfilms International • Ann Arbor, Mich. • Published In 1988 • Pages:

By: Fix, Alan G..

Abstract

This study is based on the authors fieldwork in eight Semai communities during an eight month period from October 1968 to May 1969. These settlements are referred to collectively in the text as the “Satak area”. According to a hypothesis of adaptive evolution proposed by Sewall Wright in 1931, a large population sub-divides itself through time into small, partially isolated demes (i.e., communities) which act as reservoirs of genetic variability “…and through a process of trial and error, shift the total species population to new adaptive peaks” (p.1). Prior to the invention of agriculture and the rise of nation-states, social scientists have assumed that the human population conformed approximately to this model. Few detailed studies of the population structure have been made in the past to either confirm or deny the authenticity of this hypothesis, and the purpose of this present paper is to test some of the basic tenets of Wrights theory using isolated Senoi population clusters. In this dissertation the author attempts to identify the local breeding population, then measure the amount of genetic exchange taking place between the various small population clusters involved, and finally to document the genetic effects of the pattern of inter-deme mating. In addition this work discusses the various processes taking place which structure local populations and either promote or retard mate exchange. Basically Fix evaluates the various demographic, socio-cultural and geographic factors in terms of their possible effects on the genetic structure of the populations studied.

HRAF PubDate

2012

Region

Asia

Sub Region

Southeast Asia

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Physical Anthropologist

Document Rating

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 1989

Field Date

1968-1969

Coverage Date

1900-1969

Coverage Place

Satak area, Pahang, Malaysia

Notes

Alan Gordon Fix

UM 72029,051

Includes bibliographical references (p. 162-167)

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Michigan, 1972

LCSH

Senoi (Southeast Asian people)