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It seems to me that, if you have a society that divides people by caste and comes down hard on intermarriage, after some generations this is what you'd expect.
by ElfinTrousers 4y ago
It seems to me that, if you have a society that divides people by caste and comes down hard on intermarriage, after some generations this is what you'd expect. Not one big "Indian" gene pool, but several smaller ones who remain distinct while still living close together.
- cjbgkagh 4y agoI think the surprising aspect is how completely the separation must have been maintained for such a long time.
- ElfinTrousers 4y agoActually, we _do_ see this in Europe too. They don't have castes in Europe, by that name, but they did have the feudal system, with a clear division between commoners and aristocrats. One big difference was that it was possible for a commoner to be given a title and hence promoted, so there was some fresh blood coming in, but you still saw things like the serious genetic diseases of the Habsburgs.
- MrBuddyCasino 4y agoIts a chicken & egg question, what came first? The caste separation or the genetic separation? I find both plausible.
- known 4y ago[dead]