Palmar pattern reduction among the Bushmen

Hand prints from 98 male and 57 female !Kung Bushmen, who show the characteristic high frequency of digital arches observed in other Bushmen samples, also show attenuation of dermatoglyphic patterns in the third interdigital area. There is an acceptable level of reproducibility between independent observers using Hauser's semi-quantitative scoring method for interdigital pattern reduction. Interdigital reduction forms are more frequent than those reported in Vienna, but their associations are similar, and so is the relationship of the bc count to the total reduction score. As the degree of reduction increases in the third interdigital area, mainline terminations tend to be located more radially. The results provide a further demonstration of the interrelatedness of dermatoglyphic traits.