Abstract: This research studies the dermatoglyphs of Han and Austronesian populations in Mainland China and Taiwan in order to understand differences between them. Our results indicate that Han populations of Mainland China and Taiwan are all assigned to the northern group. Austronesians of both Mainland China and Taiwan are significantly different in their dermatoglyphic variables. Utsat in Hainan Island, an Austronesian population, is assigned to southern group, whereas Taiwanese aboriginal populations are assigned to the northern group. Our work is the first comparative dermatoglyphic study of Austronesian and non-Mandarinspeaking Han populations.

Key words: Dermatoglyphs; Han; Austronesians; Taiwan