A quantitative analysis of the fingerprints of the Tharus of Uttar Pradesh.

Abstract

AbstractFingerprints of the Rana, the Danguria and the Pachchimaha, three major localized endogamous groups of the Tharus of Uttar Pradesh were analyzed with a view to see whether or not they also represent three different dermatoglyphic populations. The Tharus are probably a tribal people of the Himalayan Region with Mongolian affiliations. In Uttar Pradesh, they live in a malarious area called Tarai, a swampy forest‐clad alluvial tract between the Himalayan foothills and the northern Indian plains. The Rana are confined to the districts of Naini Tal and Kheri, the Danguria to Bahraich and Gonda, whereas the Pachchimaha live in Gorakhpur.Investigations on fingerprints of 261 Rana, 204 Danguria and 114 Pachchimaha Tharus suggests that the various pattern types are distributed much the same way in the three endogamous groups. The loops (54.97%) are more numerous than the whorls (41.01%) in both the sexes of each group of the Tharus. An evaluation of the statistical significance of the mean differences in the index of pattern intensity and the ridge counts between pairs of male and female samples of the three groups revealed that they represent a single biological population in respect of fingerprint determinants. Thus the mean indices of pattern intensity are 13.76±0.19 and 13.59±0.21 in male and female samples of the Tharus respectively. As regards the ridge count we observe a mean of 130.61±2.30 in males and 121.50±2.87 in females. Sexual difference in the mean ridge count is noticeable only among the Rana.