POPULATION HISTORY OF CORSICA - A LINGUISTIC AND GENETIC-ANALYSIS

Genetic and linguistic differentiations within Corsica were analysed a nd compared; the genetic relationships of Corsica to other Mediterrane an populations were also studied. Lexical distances between 49 Corsica n localities were computed From a standard word list; trees built from these distances were compared with average linkage and neighbour-join ing trees of genetic distances. Our lexical distance results confirmed the north/south dialectal subdivision of Corsican speeches described by linguists. No clear results were achieved with genetic distances be cause of the low number of loci for which data were available. Neverth eless, a tight northern cluster clearly emerged. When compared to othe r Mediterranean populations, Corsica showed a certain degree of differ entiation, although not so marked as that of Sardinia. Corsica present ed genetic affinities with Campania, Sicily, Liguria, Provence and Lat ium, while distances with Tuscany and Sardinia were larger. These resu lts can be interpreted as a reflection of the prehistoric isolation of Corsica and the relative contribution to the island gene pool of preh istoric and historic invaders and immigrants from several populations.