[Nyclocal] Genes and Colonization in Latin America

[William Wharton]

Friends,

Here is an interesting reporting concerning the
long-term genetic effects of European-Native American
15th c. interaction.  So sad that such a positive
genetic exchange - the meeting and mixing of
previously isolated gene pools - took place within the
context of the mass genocide of native societies -
through disease, overwork and violence.  It will be a
happy day (clearly not this day) when humanity can
benefit from the former without the latter.

Peace,
Billy
    
BBC NEWS
Study unlocks Latin American past
European colonisation of South America resulted in a
dramatic shift from a native American population to a
largely mixed one, a genetic study has shown.

It suggests male European settlers mated with native
and African women, and slaughtered the men.

But it adds that areas like Mexico City "still
preserve the genetic heritage" because these areas had
a high number of natives at the time of colonisation.

The findings appear in the journal Public Library of
Science Genetics.

The international team of researchers wrote: "The
history of Latin America has entailed a complex
process of population mixture between natives and
recent immigrants across a vast geographic region.

"Few details are known about this process or about how
it shaped the genetic make-up of Latin American
populations."

'Clear signature'

The study examined 249 unrelated individuals from 13
Mestizo populations (people from a mixed
European/native American origin) in seven countries,
ranging from Chile in the south to Mexico in the
north.

	Not only did the European settlers take away land and
property, they also took away the women
Dr Andres Luiz-Linares,
University College London
"There is a clear genetic signature," explained lead
author Andres Luiz-Linares from University College
London.

"The initial mixing occurred predominately between
immigrant and European men and native and African
women."

He said that the study showed that it was a pattern
that was uniform across Latin America.

"We see it in all the populations we examined, so it
is clearly a historical fact that the ancestors of
these populations can be traced to matings between
immigrant men and native and African women."

The researchers found that within the genetic
landscape of Latin America, there were variations.

"The Mestizo with the highest native ancestry are in
areas which historically have had relatively large
native populations," they reported.

This included Andean regions and cities such as Mexico
City, where major civilisations were already
established by the time Europeans reached the
continent in the late 15th Century.

"By contrast, the Mestizo with the highest European
ancestry are from areas with relatively low
pre-Columbian native population density and where the
current native population is sparse," they added.

Bloody past

Explaining the fate of native males when the Europeans
arrived, Professor Luiz-Linares said: "It is a very
sad and terrible historical fact, they were basically
annihilated.

"Not only did the European settlers take away land and
property, they also took away the women and, as much
as possible, they exterminated the men."

He said the findings could help people change their
perception of Latin American history.

"It is very important in terms of rescuing the past
and recognising the roots of the population, and the
living presence of natives within the current
population," Professor Luiz-Linares explained.

As well as providing an insight into the past, the
team hopes that the findings will also help shape
studies aimed at identifying and analysing diseases.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/7307563.stm

Published: 2008/03/21 10:43:31 GMT

© BBC MMVIII



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