Failure of linguistic relationships to predict genetic distances between the Waiãpi and other tribes of lower Amazonia.

Data on blood group, serum protein, erythrocyte enzyme, and histocompatibility antigen (HLA) traits are presented for the Waiãpi, a Tupi-speaking tribe of the Brazilian and French Guianas. Intra- and intertribal comparisons have been made between these data, and previously published data from French Guiana, from another Tupi tribe and from other tribes of neighboring areas, and from the continent as a whole. For this purpose, we have modified the usual measure of genetic distance to obtain a value which is independent of the number of loci being considered. The intertribal genetic distances do not correlate with linguistic affinity. Social differences, which may have affected the rate of drift from the continental mean, correlate better with genetic distances.