In this article, Perales and colleagues research potential correlations between crop diversity and ethnolinguistic diversity in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The study was conducted on two ethnolinguistic diverse groups, the Tzeltal and Tzotzil, residing in an area that is relatively homogenous. The methods used are morphological analysis, isozyme analysis and adaptation analysis on different maize populations. Interviews on different cultural aspects of the groups were conducted. The populations proved to have weak differentiation in the isozyme analysis, thus not correlating with ethnolinguistic differences. However, the overall results indicate morphologically diverse maize populations. The authors suggest this diversity could be a result of farmers seed exchange existing overwhelmingly at the local level, where there is trust of the people and seeds have been tested in familiar circumstances. This local bias would help to segregate crop populations according to ethnolinguistic group.

Prepared by Viveka Lundgren