Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T22:48:25.207Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

EARLY BREAKDOWN OF ISOLATION REVEALED BY MARRIAGE BEHAVIOUR IN A LADIN-SPEAKING COMMUNITY (GARDENA VALLEY, SOUTH TYROL, ITALY, 1825–1924)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 October 2011

PAOLA GUERESI
PAOLA GUERESI
Affiliation:
Department of Statistical Sciences ‘P. Fortunati’, University of Bologna, Italy
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The aim of this study was to investigate marriage behaviour from 1825 to 1924 in an Alpine valley inhabited by Ladin speakers (Gardena Valley, South Tyrol, Italy), where the particular geographic, linguistic and economic characteristics may have influenced the level of reproductive isolation. A total of 2183 marriage acts from the two main parishes of Santa Cristina and Ortisei were examined. Birth and residence endogamy, inbreeding coefficients from dispensations and from isonymy, birth place distribution of the spouses and isonymic relationships were analysed in four 25-year sub-periods. All the indicators considered point to a lower level of reproductive isolation at Ortisei, a main centre for the woodcarving industry, which appeared to be experiencing an early and effective breakdown of isolation. Marriage behaviour in the Gardena Valley between 1825 and 1924 seems to have been mostly influenced by socioeconomic factors rather than linguistic and cultural ones.

Type
Short Report
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 44 , Issue 3 , May 2012 , pp. 365 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Caravello, G. U., Tasso, M. & Lucchetti, E. (1999) Distribution of surnames and identities in the Ladin communities of the Dolomites. Anthropologischer Anzeiger 57, 303–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crow, J. F. (1980) The estimation of inbreeding from isonymy. Human Biology 52, 1–14.Google ScholarPubMed
Demetz, E. (1968) Der Fremdenverkehr in Grödental. Schriftenreihe des Südtiroler Wirtschafts- und Sozialinstitut, Bozen.Google Scholar
Gueresi, P., Martuzzi Veronesi, F. & Pettener, D. (2000) Biodemography of populations in the Eastern Alps of Trentino region. Rivista di Antropologia 78, 169–178.Google Scholar
Gueresi, P., Pettener, D. & Martuzzi Veronesi, F. (2001) Marriage behaviour in the Alpine Non Valley from 1825 to 1923. Annals of Human Biology 28, 157–171(erratum p. 597).Google ScholarPubMed
Lasker, G. W. (1977) A coefficient of relationship by isonymy: a method for estimating the genetic relationship between populations. Human Biology 49, 489–493.Google ScholarPubMed
Lucchetti, E., Tasso, M., Pizzetti, P., De Iasio, S. & Caravello, G. U. (2005) Surname distributions and linguistic-cultural identities in the Alto Adige-Südtirol area. International Journal of Anthropology 20, 225–245.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marroni, F., Pichler, I., De Grandi, I., Beu Volpato, C., Vogl, F. D., Pinggera, G. K., Bailey-Wilson, J. E. & Pramstaller, P. P. (2006) Population isolates in South Tyrol and their value for genetic dissection of complex diseases. Annals of Human Genetics 70, 812–821.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martuzzi Veronesi, F., Gueresi, P. & Pettener, D. (1996) Biodemographic analysis of Italian Alpine communities (Upper Sole Valley, 1725–1923). In Biondi, G. & Mascie-Taylor, C. G. N. (eds) Biodemography in Anthropological Studies. Rivista di Antropologia 74, 55–75.Google Scholar
Pettener, D. (1985) Consanguineous marriages in the Upper Bologna Apennine (1565–1980): microgeographic variations, pedigree structure and correlation of inbreeding secular trend with changes in population size. Human Biology 57, 267–288.Google Scholar
Pettener, D., Gueresi, P. & Martuzzi Veronesi, F. (1994) Struttura biodemografica della valle del Fersina (Valle dei Mocheni) dal 1800 al 1914. Bollettino di Demografia Storica 20, 131–140.Google Scholar
Pichler, I., Mueller, J. C., Stefanov, S. A., De Grandi, A., Beu Volpato, C., Pinggera, G. K. et al. (2006) Genetic structure in contemporary South Tyrolean isolated populations revealed by analysis of Y-chromosome, mtDNA, and Alu polymorphisms. Human Biology 78, 441–464.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Riegler, A., Marroni, F., Pattaro, C., Gueresi, P. & Pramstaller, P. P. (2008) Isolation and marriage patterns in four South Tyrolean villages (Italy) during the nineteenth century. Journal of Biosocial Science 40, 787–791.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Videsott, P. (2000) Ladinische Familiennamen. Cognoms ladins. Schlern-Schriften 311, Universitätsverlag Wagner, Innsbruck.Google Scholar