[Human remains in museums: research, preservation and communication. The experience of Turin University Museum of Anthropology and Etnography]. / I reperti umani antichi nei musei: ricerca, conservazione e comunicazione. Le esperienze del Museo di Antropologia ed Etnografia dell'Universita di Torino.

The creation of large scientific collections has been an important development for anthropological and paleopathological research. Indeed the biological collections are irreplaceable reference systems for the biological reconstruction of past population. They also assume the important role of anthropological archives and, in the global description of man, permit the integration of historical data with those from bio-anthropolgical research. Thinking about the role of mummies and bones as scientific resources, best practice of preservation of ancient specimens should be of high priority for institution and researchers. By way of example, the authors mention their experience regarding ancient human remains preserved in the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography at the University of Turin.

Professions, generations and reproductive dynamics of a French Alpine population (16th-20th centuries).

As part of a survey of the biological history of Alpine populations, the lineages of all the families of the Vallouise valley (a French 'department' of the Hautes Alpes) have been reconstructed over several centuries. The genealogies have been included in a computerized population record, known as 'Vallouise in the Briançon area (14th-20th centuries)', using the French-Canadian programme Analypop. Most of the professions of the family heads were included in the files. In this study, various profession groups were identified and their descents determined over successive generations. In this mountain area, where over 92% of marriages took place among relatives during the 19th century, the profession groups modulated their descents according to chosen strategies, sometimes with considerable differences among groups but with a remarkable consistency of behaviour. Moreover, there was weak interpenetration in the descents of each profession at both the 2nd and 3rd generations.

Social structure and consanguinity in a French mountain Population (1550-1849).

Sociocultural factors play a crucial role in the variation of consanguinity in a population. The choice of specific matrimonial strategies can favor the closure or opening of the group to the outside, whereas differential fertility affects the gene flow from one generation to another. In the present study we analyzed the role of socioprofessional groups in the maintenance of endogamy and consanguinity in a French Alpine valley: Vallouise in the Briançon area. In mountain environments, where the reproductive space is limited and quickly saturated, the autochthonous families adopt diversified matrimonial strategies. These marriage practices tend to prevent fragmentation of agricultural property. We analyzed the matrimonial behavior in the two main social groups of this population (décideurs and farmers) from 1550 to 1849. To better understand the behavior of the two social groups, we considered the two components of consanguinity, close and distant. Our study showed that the two groups had similar behavior regarding consanguinity. The way to prevent fragmentation of the patrimony was to choose a consanguineous spouse. This type of strategy inevitably leads to a high percentage of endogamy, which in this region of the Alps exceeded 90% through many centuries.

Gm and Km immunoglobulin allotypes in Sicily.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the intra- and inter-population variability of the Gm/Km system in the Madonie Mountains, one of the main geographical barriers in north-central Sicily. We analysed 392 samples: 145 from Alia, 128 from Valledolmo, 25 from Cerda and 94 from Palermo. Serum samples were tested for G1m (1,2,3,17), G2m (23), G3m (5,6,10,11,13,14,15,16,21,24,28) and Km (1) allotypes by the standard agglutination-inhibition method. We found the typical genetic patterns of populations in peripheral areas of the Mediterranean basin, with a high frequency of haplotypes Gm5*;3;23 and Gm5*;3;. The frequency of Gm21,28;1,17;. (about 16%) is rather high compared with other southern areas. Of great importance is the presence of the common African haplotype Gm 5*;1,17;., ranging in frequency from 1.56% at Valledolmo to 5.5% at Alia. The presence of this haplotype suggests past contacts with peoples from North Africa. The introduction of African markers could be due to the Phoenician colonization at the end of the 2nd millennium b.c. or to the more recent Arab conquest (8th-9th centuries a.d.).

Hb Trento: an elongated C-terminal beta chain due to a new frameshift mutation [beta144 (-A)].

An elongated C-terminal hemoglobin variant, due to the deletion of nucleotide A in codon 144 (nucleotide 63600 GenBank entry UO1317) was found in a 31-year-old woman from Trento (northeastern Italy). This deletion led to the replacement of lysine at beta144 by a serine residue, the disappearance of the stop codon at position 147, and the presence of 12 additional residues, identical to those observed in Hbs Saveme, Tak and Cranston, which result from a similar mechanism. Hb Trento, amounting to 29% of the total hemoglobin, was unstable and had, as the other variants of this group, an increased oxygen affinity. It led to a mild compensated hemolytic anemia with red cell inclusion bodies. Functional studies of the isolated abnormal hemoglobin were difficult to perform because of autoxidation, precipitation, and formation of hybrids with Hb A.

Evolution of consanguinity in a French alpine valley: the Vallouise in the Brianfon region (17th-19th Centuries).

The present study considers the evolution of consanguinity in the Vallouise, a high glacial valley in the French Alps. The genealogical method was used to estimate consanguinity in this Alpine population from the 17th to the 19th centuries. This method was then compared with three other methods used to measure consanguinity. The results indicate that while consanguinity increased through time (marriage dispensations and genealogies), the structural consanguinity (isonymy) was very stable throughout the entire period.