HISPANICS


In the U.S., Latin Americans are often considered a single race possessing a distinctive "look". In fact, they're a heterogeneous amalgam of the three primary races of man: Caucasoids (Mediterraneans), Mongoloids (Amerindians) and Negroids (West Africans). These elements usually exist in solution with one another to varying degrees, though in some places are found largely in pure form. The unique and variable composition of Hispanics, which spans the entire spectrum of physical types, makes them a poor population to use as a standard for drawing comparisons with other groups.




Genetics

"The effect of gene flow on Hispanic populations from different geographic regions of the United States was analyzed using six autosomal DNA markers.... By region of sampling, the Hispanic populations showed different ancestry contributions, from a trihybrid structure with European, Native American, and African contributions (California, Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, and Virginia) to a dihybrid structure with European and American contributions (Southwest population) or European and African contributions (Pennsylvania and Southeast population). These findings allowed us to define two regional groups, the West and the East. In the former, Native American contributions ranged from 35.58% to 57.87%; in the East region the values ranged from 0% to 21.27%. An African influence was similar in both regions, ranging from 0% to 17.11%, with a tendency of increasing in the East region. These data reflect the different origins of the Hispanic populations that led to the present ones. In the West, Hispanics are mostly of Mexican origin, and in the East, they are predominantly of Cuban and Puerto Rican origin."

(Bertoni et al. 2003)

* * *

"The origin of the African populations that arrived on the Colombian coasts at the time of the Spanish conquest and their subsequent settlement throughout the country and interaction with Amerindian and Spanish populations are features that can be analyzed through the study of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) markers. ... 159 Afro-Colombians from five populations in which they are the majority and 91 urban Mestizos were studied. No Amerindian haplogroups (A-D, X) were detected in 81% of the Afro-Colombians. In those samples with Amerindian lineages (average 18.8%, with a range from 10% to 43%), haplogroup B predominated. When analyzed for the presence of African haplotypes, Afro-Colombians showed an overall frequency of 35.8% for haplogroup L mtDNAs, although with broad differences between populations. ... in Mestizos less than 22% of their mtDNAs belonged to non-Amerindian lineages, of which most were likely to be West Eurasian in origin. Haplogroup L mtDNAs were found in only one Mestizo (1.1%) ... Amerindians from Colombia have experienced little or no matrilineal admixture with Caucasians or Africans. Taken together, these results are evidence of different patterns of past ethnic admixture among Africans, Amerindians, and Spaniards in the geographic region now encompassing Colombia, which is also reflected in much of the region's cultural diversity."

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"To estimate the maternal contribution of Native Americans to the human gene pool of Puerto Ricans—a population of mixed African, European, and Amerindian ancestry—the mtDNAs of two sample sets were screened for restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) defining the four major Native American haplogroups. The sample set collected from people who claimed to have a maternal ancestor with Native American physiognomic traits had a statistically significant higher frequency of Native American mtDNAs (69.6%) than did the unbiased sample set (52.6%). This higher frequency suggests that, despite the fact that the native Taino culture has been extinct for centuries, the Taino contribution to the current population is considerable and some of the Taino physiognomic traits are still present. Native American haplogroup frequency analysis shows a highly structured distribution, suggesting that the contribution of Native Americans foreign to Puerto Rico is minimal. Haplogroups A and C cover 56.0% and 35.6% of the Native American mtDNAs, respectively. No haplogroup D mtDNAs were found. Most of the linguistic, biological, and cultural evidence suggests that the Ceramic culture of the Tainos originated in or close to the Yanomama territory in the Amazon. However, the absence of haplogroup A in the Yanomami suggests that the Yanomami are not the only Taino ancestors."


Demographics
Racial composition of various Latin American nations:

Nation
Mestizo
Mulatto
European
Indian
African
Other
Mexico
60%
--
9%
30%
--
1%
El Salvador
94%
--
1%
5%
--
--
Cuba
--
51%
37%
--
11%
1%
Dominican Rep.
--
73%
16%
--
11%
--
Colombia
58%
14%
20%
1%
4%
3%
Brazil
--
38%
55%
--
6%
1%
Argentina
15%
--
85%
--
--
--
Uruguay
8%
--
88%
--
4%
--


Racial Types
Though most Hispanics are genetically mixed, one can identify several distinct racial types among them. The individuals below were chosen as representatives of each type, but intermediates and hybrids of every conceivable appearance are even more common. Hispanics exhibit huge phenotypic diversity that can't be adequately displayed with just a few images.

Inca Woman
Indian (Peru)
Andy Garcia
European (Cuba)
Pele
African (Brazil)

Selena
Mestizo (Mexico)

Rosie Perez
Mulatto (Puerto Rico)


Related Topics
Racial Categories: List of names given to different Hispanic hybrids.

Spaniards: Racial make-up of the populations of Spain.

Portuguese: Racial make-up of the populations of Portugal.

Races of Man: The three primary races that make up Hispanic populations.






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