Papago Indian admixture and mating patterns in a mining town: a genetic cauldron.
Problems of delineation of population units and sub-units and the poor fit of genetic models make populations with high mobility and low stability difficult to analyze by present means. Examination of three processes  īn-migration, admixture, and dispersal  as well as the mate selection factors involved in out-mating and changing population boundaries are suggested as alternate procedures in these cases. The Papago Indian community of Ajo, Arizona, is characterized by historical instability, an in-migration rate of 72.3%, a dispersal rate of 20.6%, and an admixture rate of 36.7%. In-migrant parents continue to come from all parts of the reservation, reservation ties are strong, and families often fragmented between reservation and Ajo homes. For these and other reasons the community cannot be delineated as a population unit nor incorporated into models of subdivided populations. Ajo's function as a cauldron in which genes are mixed and from which they are scattered is evident in sharp increases in the percentage of mixed Papagos among residents and out-migrants. Among the latter more than twice as many mixed Papago leave Ajo as entered in the parental generation. Mate selection factors possibly involved in admixture are considered.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001130:Arizona; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005828:Genetics, Population; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008906:Mining; D010290:Parents; D014171:Transients and Migrants