Natural Selection Is Not Related to Reduced Body Size in a Rural Subsistence Agricultural Community in Southern Mexico

Document Type

Article

Authors

Bertis B. Little, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
Robert M. Malina, University of Texas-Austin
Peter H. Buschang, Centre de Recherche sur la Croissance Humaine, Université de Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Lori R. Little, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas

Abstract

Adult Zapotecs are among the shortest Indians in Mexico. This study investigated whether reduced body size was an effect of genetic selection or a developmental effect of very poor nutrition and health. Fertility, offspring survival, and offspring prereproductive mortality were regressed on stature and weight of 205 multiparous adults (ages 20 to 72). The statistical analyses suggest that the exceptionally short stature of Zapotec Indians in this community is due to poor environmental conditions and not to genetic selection or adaptation.

Recommended Citation

Little, Bertis B.; Malina, Robert M.; Buschang, Peter H.; and Little, Lori R. (1989) "Natural Selection Is Not Related to Reduced Body Size in a Rural Subsistence Agricultural Community in Southern Mexico," Human Biology: Vol. 61: Iss. 2, Article 10.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol61/iss2/10