Spread and diversity of human populations in Bahia, Brazil.

Abstract

Twenty per cent (n = 29,755) of the total school children population of sixty localities over the State of Bahia, Brazil are studied for the proportion of Black admixture and type of family names. A complex racial classification allowed the estimation of a Black Phenotype Index (BPI) for each locality, while the type of surname allowed the estimation of Black Cultural Index (BCI) (frequency of devotional surnames) and Indian Cultural Index (ICI) (frequency of animal/plant sur­names) as well. There is a significant association between the proportion of Black admixture estimated from the physical type (BPI) and the proportion of Black admixture estimated from a cultural index (BCI). Associations are also shown between the geographic distribution of localities and the Black and Indian indexes, mapped over the State of Bahia.