A Problem with Synthetic Maps

Synthetic maps of human gene frequencies, which are maps of principal component scores based on correlations of interpolated surfaces, have been popularized widely by L. Cavalli-Sforza, P. Menozzi, and A. Piazza. Such maps are used to make ethnohistorical inferences or to support various demographic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inHuman biology Vol. 84; no. 5; pp. 609 - 621
Main Authors Sokal, Robert R., Oden, Neal L., Thomson, Barbara A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Wayne State University Press 01.10.2012
Subjects
Autocorrelation
Correlation
Correlations
Datasets
Demography
Gene frequency
GENE FREQUENCY MAPS
Genetic mapping
Historical analysis
Human genetics
Hypothesis
Interpolation
Population genetics
PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS
Principal components analysis
s
SPATIAL AUTOCORRELATION
Synthetic anthropology
SYNTHETIC MAPS
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Synthetic maps of human gene frequencies, which are maps of principal component scores based on correlations of interpolated surfaces, have been popularized widely by L. Cavalli-Sforza, P. Menozzi, and A. Piazza. Such maps are used to make ethnohistorical inferences or to support various demographic or historical hypotheses. We show from first principles and by analyses of real and simulated data that synthetic maps are subject to large errors and that apparent geographic trends may be detected in spatially random data. We conclude that results featured as synthetic maps should be approached with considerable caution.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 23
ISSN:0018-7143
1534-6617
1534-6617
DOI:10.3378/027.084.0511