Blood Groups and Physiognomy of British Columbia Coastal Indians.

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Abstract
300 people belonging to 5 tribes were tested. The results were 86.7% O, 12.7% A, 0.6% B blood group. One mother and daughter had Japanese blood, and one of the 2 who gave the B test was negroid. Numerous photographs show much white mixture, which accounts for the presence of A and B, the pure-blooded ancestors being presumably all O. In I family the inheritance of A is traced through 4 generations, 8 of the 38 A''s being in this family. The present condition and history of these Indians is discussed. It is suggested that certain isolated tribes in the Asiatic coastal Islands, such as the Gilyaks of Saghalien and the Tso and Bunan of Formosa, who resemble the Amerindians and are high in O blood group, may be remnants of the Indian ancestry. The author points out that the blood groups can be utilized as an indication of racial origin and history in the case of the Australian aborigines, Maoris, Bushmen and others, "A" being older and characteristic of "peripheral" peoples. The spread of the A and B blood groups through repeated mutations is discussed on a genetical and mathematical basis. The need for blood group investigations of the peoples on the Siberian coast is emphasized. The results are regarded as supporting the view that the Indian ancestors crossed Behring Strait before the A and B blood groups had reached the natives of North Eastern Asia. One photograph of an Indian child shows the Mongolian spot.

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