Zhang Haiguo, an expert in dermatoglyphics, has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Prize for Anthropology by The Shanghai Anthropological Association.

Professor Zhang works at the department of medical genetics in Shanghai Jiao Tong University's School of Medicine. For more than 30 years, Zhang has devoted himself to collecting dermatoglyphic variables from China’s 56 ethnic groups in an attempt to track their origin and migratory route.

Dermatoglyphics, which involves the study of fingerprints, palm lines and the soles of the feet, can help decipher the origin of human beings, according to Zhang.

Under his lead, China’s Dermatoglyphics study group collected more than 150 samples by surveying more than 68 thousand Chinese from all 56 ethnic groups, making it the world's first research of dermatoglyphic variables involving all ethnic groups of a country.

The same group will share similar features in terms of their dermatoglyphic variables, which could help track their origin and migratory route.

Based on this, the researchers divided all the ethnic groups into the Southern group and the Northern group.

The research did present some surprising discoveries. For example, instead of coming from India, Tibetans actually originated from the very North of China because their dermatoglyphic features resemble those of northern groups’.

Gaoshan minority group, the majority ethnic group in Taiwan, was found to have originated from the Chinese mainland and not the islands of the South Pacific.

Zhang’s research has been compiled in a book titled Dermatoglyphics of China's 56 Ethnic Groups.(ITALICS PLEASE)

Zhang said he is currently exploring a new research method that combines generic and dermatoglyphic research in a bid to better decipher the origin of ethnic groups.

All of Zhang’s dermatoglyphic data has now been published on PLoS ONE, an international, peer-reviewed online publication of the US Public Library of Science.