Ethnohistorical evidence for inbreeding among the pre-Hispanic Mixtec royal caste.
Pre-Columbian Mixtec social organization was distinguished by the tight endogamy of the ruling class, which included many consanguineous marriages. It was also characterized by a vigorous historical and genealogical tradition. The historical documents, or codices, provide materials for the calculation of the levels of inbreeding present before the Spanish Conquest. A genealogical analysis of inbreeding was performed on the combined pedigree, which spanned the tenth through sixteenth centuries, of all individuals connected by ancestry, descent, or marriage with Lord 8 Deer Jaguar Claw of Tilantongo (A.D. 1063-1115). Sixty of the 217 couples (27.65%) were consanguineous. When only couples of wholly known grandparentage were considered (N = 39), F = 0.1051. The mean F of all couples, even those where one spouse was of unknown parentage, was 0.0243. Over the 550 years of the pedigree the maximum F in any 52-year period was 0.1324. This level of inbreeding is sufficient to produce noticeable effects on population structure and affinities over time.
Christensen
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AF
Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
D003241:Consanguinity; D005007:Ethnology / Q000266:history; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000266:history*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049690:History, Ancient; D049691:History, Medieval; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000266:history*; D010375:Pedigree; D012923:Social Class; D013030:Spain