ANALYZING POPULATION-STRUCTURE THROUGH TH E STUDY OF CONSANGUINITY - THE VALSERINE VALLEY FROM THE 18TH-CENTURY TO THE PRESENT

The consanguineous marriage rate is usually estimated by demographer-h istorians from dispensation declarations in marriage certificates. A C omparison of such declarations with other sources, such as diocesan re gisters and genealogies, shows that these measures are unveliable. Ana lysing genealogies of five villages in the Valserine valley from the e nd seventeenth century to the present makes it possible to establish t he average consanguinity ratio within the population. Genealogies do, futhermore, take into account instances of more remote consanguinity ( beyond the fourth generation). They demonstrate the existence of subpo pulations in which spouse selection and mobility are different. Consan guinity is a trait peculiar to a limited group of families who have li ved in these villages over the three centuries studied.