Sunday, December 2, 2007

Influence of educational levels of the spouses on consanguinity among three endogamous groups of Andhra Pradesh, South India

The highest values of consanguinity was found among “Kamma” (45.0%), “Ediga” (47.5%) and “Mala” (55.7%) who occupy different strata of Indian caste hierarchy. In the way of searchout the factors influencing consanguineous marriages, the present paper finda the negative relationship between educational levels of the spouses and consanguinity. The educational levels of men has significant effect on the frequency of consanguinious marriages among “Kamma” and “Mala”. However, further analysis deplore significant differences in the mean levels consanguinity between educational groups. It divulge low level of higher education among the populations. Only 12% of men and 1.6% of women have degree level and above education in the total sample.

Chandrasekar, A. 1995. Influence of educational levels of the spouses on consanguinity among three endogamous groups of Andhra Pradesh, South India. International Journal of Anthropology 10 (2-3):125-132.
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Wednesday, September 5, 2007

YAP insertion signature in South Asia

Reports, for the first time, high frequencies (8-65%) of Y Alu polymorphic (YAP) insertion in northeast Indian tribes. All seven Jarawa samples from the Andaman and Nicobar islands had the YAP insertion, in conformity with an earlier study of Andaman Islanders. One isolated case with haplotype E* was found in Dungri Bhill, a western Indian population, while YAP insertion in northeast India and Andaman tribes was found in association with haplotype D* (M168, M174). YAP insertion frequencies reported in the mainland Indian populations are negligible, according to previous studies. Genetic drift may be the causative factor for the variable frequency of the YAP insertion in the mainland populations, while the founder effect may have resulted in the highest incidence of haplotype D among the Andaman Islanders. The results of YAP insertion and the evidence of previous mtDNA studies indicate an early out of Africa migration to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The findings of YAP insertion in northeast Indian tribes are very significant for understanding the evolutionary history of the region.
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