Dermatoglyphic variation in Spanish Basque populations

The present study involves the evaluation of digital dermato- glyphic traits of 2185 unrelated individuals (1152 females and 1033 males) from 17 natural valleys of the four Basque provinces (Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, Navarra, and Alava) in the Spanish Basque Country. Univariate intervalley and between-sex comparisons were carried out by means of chi-square con- tingency analysis for pattern types and by means of one-way analysis of vari- ance for ridge counts. Multivariate intervalley comparison was carried out by means of correspondence analysis for pattern types and by principal compo- nent analysis for ridge counts. The results of this study are notable for the fol- lowing findings: (1) in general, all variables are significantly heterogeneous among valley populations; (2) there was a greater differentiation among the valley populations than between sexes in one valley population; (3) affinities among the intervalley populations depend on the variables considered; (4) the valley populations from Vizcaya resemble those from the Pyrenees; (5) based on interprovince comparisons, the Vizcaya and Navarra samples are the clos- est; (6) in general, the valley samples from Alava are the worst clustered; (7) the universality of dermatoglyphic component structure fits better in males.