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Article ID: CBB001421070

Indigenous Populations in Mexico: Medical Anthropology in the Work of Ruben Lisker in the 1960s (2014)

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Volume: 47, Part A
Issue: Part A
Pages: 108-117
Publication date: 2014
Language: English

Publication Date: 2014
Edition Details: Article in a special section: “Heredity and The Study of Human Populations After 1945”

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Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence Blood Malaria Human genetics Indigenous peoples; indigeneity Public health Cultural anthropology 20th century Mexico

Ruben Lisker's research on the genetic hematological traits of Mexican indigenous populations illustrates the intersection of international health policies and the local modernizing nationalism of the Mexican post-revolution period. Lisker's surveys of blood group types, and of G6PD (glucose-6-phosphodehydrogenase) and hemoglobin variants in indigenous populations, incorporated linguistic criteria in the sampling methods, and historical and cultural anthropological accounts in the interpretation of results. In doing so, Lisker heavily relied on the discourse and the infrastructure created by the indigenista program and its institutions. Simultaneously, Lisker's research was thoroughly supported by international and bilateral agencies and programs, including the malaria eradication campaign of the 1950s and 1960s. As a member of the scientific elite he was able to make original contributions to the postwar field of human population genetics. His systematic research illustrates the complex entanglement of local and international contexts that explains the co-construction of global knowledge on human variation after WWII.

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Article Bangham, Jenny; Chadarevian, Soraya de (2014) Human Heredity after 1945: Moving Populations Centre Stage. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (pp. 45-49). unapi

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