Abstract
The linguistic uniqueness of the Basque people and their physical resemblance to some of the late palæolithic inhabitants of Europe have long been known. As Boyd and Boyd1 have shown for the Spanish Basques and as Vallois2 has shown for French populations with a large Basque element, they have a high frequency of group O persons. In this they resemble the Icelanders, the Scots, the Irish, the northern Welsh and the Sardinians. They differ from these and from all the other peoples of Europe yet examined in their very low frequency for the B gene. The facts so far cited tend to show that the Basques are a relict population which at least in Spain has suffered no significant admixture of elements akin to the general western European population. It remains to be determined whether, on the other hand, a race akin to the Basques forms a significant element in the population of western Europe.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Boyd, W. C., and Boyd, L. G., Amer. J. Phys. Anthrop., 23, 49 (1937).
Vallois, H. V., Butt. Soc. Anthrop., 5, 9th Ser., 53 (1944).
Fisher, R. A., personal communication cited by Race, R. R., Nature, 153, 771 (1944).
Haldane, J. B. S., Ann. Eugen., 11, 333 (1942).
Wiener, A. S., Science, 96, 407 (1942).
Fisher, R. A., Race, R. R., and Taylor, G. L., Nature, 153, 106 (1944).
Etcheverry, M. A., Día m´ed., 17, 1237 (1945).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MOURANT, A. The Blood Groups of the Basques. Nature 160, 505–506 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160505b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160505b0
This article is cited by
-
L’hématologie: une discipline majeure dans l’histoire de l’anthropologie biologique et de la génétique des populations
Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris (2010)
-
The place of the Basques in the European Y-chromosome diversity landscape
European Journal of Human Genetics (2005)
-
Microsatellite data support subpopulation structuring among Basques
Journal of Human Genetics (2005)
-
Basque Blood Groups
Nature (1948)
-
Rh frequency in the people of Lucknow
Heredity (1948)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.