E-raamat: In Search of Human Evolution: Field Research in Diverse Environments

"This volume focuses on methods of field investigations on the theory of evolution set in diverse environments. It also discusses the necessary preparation, sources of funds and training required to conduct fieldwork in various countries. Populations investigated include: (1) Siberian and Alaskan indigenous people; (2) Tlaxcaltecan populations of Mexico transplanted to adjoining valleys; (3) Mennonite migrants from Europe to midwestern U.S.; (4) Origins of Irish Tinkers; (5) Basque populations of Spain; (6) Lymphoma in Baboons of Sukhumi; Genetic markers were utilized to reconstruct the genetic structure of these populations and the microdifferentiation of transplanted groups over time periods of several hundred years. Genetic markers included blood groups, proteins, immunoglobulins, HLA and sequences and uniparental DNA markers: maternal mtDNA and paternal NRY, autosomal STRs and SNPs. Results of these analyses indicate that: (1) the Basque populations were descendants of migrants from the Middle East; (2) Tinkers are Irish who were displaced by the potato famine and political conditions; (3) Black Caribs (Garifuna) represent an evolutionary success story forming 54 villages along the coast of Central America, from Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Methodology associated with biodemography was utilized to develop testable hypotheses in Tiszahat, Hungary and Valle Maira, Italy. This volume demonstrates that theories of evolution can be tested using DNA markers"--

Why would a researcher be willing to subject themselves to scorching heat, frigid conditions, or swarms of Anopheles mosquitoes? For author Michael H. Crawford, the answer is clear. Field research in anthropological genetics helps us answer several basic, universal questions. Who are we? Where did we come from? How did we get here?

In Search of Human Evolution synthesizes more than 50 years of Crawford's research on the effects of migration on the evolution of human populations relocated to a series of unique environments. It documents the history of the field of anthropological genetics from its inception in 1973, through the information/computer revolution of the 1980s to the development of molecular characterization of human populations and the sequencing of the human genome. Crawford focuses on various facets of human evolution and migration in eight distinctive regions of the world, including sub-Arctic islands, tropical islands and coastal regions in the northern Caribbean, high valleys and arid regions in Mexico, the Artic taiga, and the plains of the Midwestern United States.

Throughout the book, Crawford provides an overview of the importance of conducting fieldwork and the ethics of field research. He examines why individuals and communities participate in such research, and what the future of field research is in these times of epidemics and political instability.

In Search of Human Evolution focuses on sources of funding and fieldwork in Mexico, Siberia, Hungary, and the Aleutian Islands. It reviews how the evolutionary questions were generated, grant proposals submitted to specific agencies, and permissions obtained from each country and community. This book also includes information on how the field research was organized, data collected, and graduate students and post docs trained. The results of each of these investigations were statistically analysed and summarized.