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Research directors: A. Sevin, M. Gibert
Thirty years ago, recognising the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to the study of Pyrenean population settlement, the CNRS and the Region Midi-Pyrenees scientifically and financially supported the Institut Pyrénéen des Etudes Anthropologiques (IPEA) and the CNRS program ‘Anthropology and Ecology of the Pyrenees’, conducted under the supervision of Jean Guilaine. Within the IPEA, the first biological studies were conducted by the team in the Centre of Hemotypology, which later turned into the Anthropobiology Laboratory of Toulouse (AMIS laboratory FRE N°2960).
In the context of this research, the laboratory focuses on the dynamics of Pyrenean populations and the impact of geography, mode of economy and marriage practices on the structure and dynamics of populations in the valleys of the French Pyrenees. The regions studied include the Pays de Sault, Lavedan, Larboust and the Vallée de l’Oueil, Val d’Aran and the Haute Vallée de la Garonne.
The first results have demonstrated that relief alone does not explain the different profile patterns of Pyrenean populations. Thus, not only geographic, but also demographic and economic views are necessary to interpret the observed profiles. Consequently, we decided to initiate a program on the ‘Microevolution and Dynamics of Pyrenean Populations’, using molecular biological techniques and other relevant approaches from other disciplines, in particular demographic history and the paleo-environment.
Research is two-fold. The first program aims to understand the Pyrenees as a whole; to consider the transfrontier aspect of population histories. This research is part of the Communauté de Travail des Pyrénées Program, which builds relationships between the universities of Toulouse (Directors: A. Sevin, J-M. Dugoujon, M. Gibert), Barcelona (Directors: M-P. Aluja, R. Nogues, P. Moral, E. Esteban), Saragossa (Directors: María Begoña Jarreta, C. Núñez) and Bilbao (Director: J-A. Pena); each of these universities has conducted research on Pyrenean populations.
The second program is a study of the French Pyrenean populations. This includes an anthropobiological study of the populations cited previously, and also the study of new populations, notably in Ariege. The analysis includes: 1/ the study of genealogies and surnames; and 2/ the study of molecular markers. The aims of the genealogy study are firstly to improve sampling techniques and the definition of (sub)populations, and secondly to evaluate the impact of the historic periods on population structure. The analysis of molecular markers will also provide complementary data on the ancient history of these populations.
Among the populations in Ariege, a particular focus is on the population of the Vallée du Haut-Vicdessos. This research, made in collaboration with J-C. Sangoi (Framespa) and N. Telmon (AMIS), is part of the multidisciplinary project carried out by the Observatoire Homme Milieu Pyrénées ‘Haut-Vicdessos’, directed by D. Galop (Geode). The possibility to combine relevant information from different disciplines allows the history of populations and their interactions with the environment to be contextualised, also within a biological framework (A-M. Guihard-Costa).
Bibliographie
Giraldo MP., Esteban E., Aluja MP., Nogues RM., Backes-Duro C., Dugoujon JM., Moral P. 2001 Gm and Km alleles in two Spanish Pyrenean populations (Andorra and Pallars Sobira): a review of Gm variation in the Western Mediterranean basin. Ann. Hum. Genet. 65(6):537-48.
Sevin A., Boëtsch G. 1991. Fichiers généalogiques et analyse de la structure génétique de populations non isolées. Application à une population agricole du Limousin, Cahiers Québécois de Démographie, 20 : 37-50
Constans J., Chakraborty R. 1989. Anthropologie Genetique des villages du Pays de Sault. In : Pays de Sault. Espaces, peuplement, populations. Ed. CNRS
Boëtsch G. & Sevin A. 1988. Problèmes méthodologiques de reconstitution généalogique des populations ouvertes. Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris, tome. 5, série xiv, n° 1-2, pp. 71-82
Vu Tien Khang J., Sevin A. 1977 Choix du conjoint et patrimoine génétique : étude de quatre villages du pays de Sault de 1740 a nos jours. Ed. du CNRS, Paris, 159p.
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