Very true. Morphology is effected by environmental factors.
However, what confuses me is the statement in this report:
“Overall, among the 908 people who were in the 44 groups in which the allele was found, more than one out of three had the variant. ‘
This implies that more than one out of three DIDN’T have the variant!!
Doesn’t that follow?
I don’t have access to the article, only the abstract. I’m guessing that the 908 people with the allele were spread among the all NA groups which means the groups all have the same allele in their genome (even if all individuals don’t have it).
My previous response doesn’t make sense. I’ll try again.
There were 908 total people spread among 44 NA groups. A percentage of them had the allele. The people who constituted that percentage were spread among the 44 groups. Therefore the groups all have the same allele in their genome (even if all individuals dont have it). The allele is distinctive enough to assume it is identical by descent.
The calculation to the most recent common ancestor gives a date as early as 39,900ybp which would make this the result of a single founder population.