Dermatoglyphics of the Chorote indians and their relationships with other inhabitants of the Gran Chaco.

The present report deals with digital and palmar dermatoglyphics of a sample of 98 Chorote indians, collected in the north of Argentina, in the Gran Chaco region. Bimanual dimorphism was observed in males and females, both in finger and in palmar variables. Significant differences between sexes appear only in digital ridge counts and in the combined incidence of the four pattern types the Chorote, in general, show low sexual dimorphism. Univariate comparisons carried out with other tribes of the Gran Chaco (Chiriguano, Pilagá, Mataco, and Toba) indicate statistically significant differences between these and the Chorote, both in males and females. The greatest differences were found in relation to the Mataco, who belong to the same linguistic family as the Chorote. Probable explanations for these differences are proposed.