ANSWERS: 1
  • I wrote the most wonderful answer...then the site crashed....so here goes again. Not all Americans would have Amerindian blood, only those who have intermarried/interbred with Amerindians. America, as a modern nation, has only existed less than 500 years, which is far too short a time for Amerindian blood to have spread throughout such as large population, considering the influx of immigrants from all over the world. Let me give you some examples of the amount of time it takes for DNA to spread. It is mathematically proven that ALL Europeans (plus many around the periphery) are descended from the Emperor Charlemagne (742/747 – 28 January 814) because of his policy to marry his great number of children to the noble families of his realm. It has taken about 1300 years for that DNA to trickle down to nobodies such as me (I have at least 30 descents from him on one branch alone). You would certainly have just as many. Presumably other Franks alive at the time might have had similar success, but we can track many of Charlemagne's descendants more easily because of history. Contrast this with another prodigious genetic disperser, Genghis Khan (c 1162-1227). Genetic testing has shown that only about 5% of Asian males have his bloodline, despite his policy of marrying large numbers of wives and using his children as political bargaining chips. About 0.5% of all males in the world are descended from him. Give another 400 years, and you might see that percentage grow rapidly in Asia to approach that of Charlemagne in Europe. Given that the AMerindian population was never large, and that many died very quickly of disease brought from Europe, coupled with the fact that by and large most immigrants from Europe lived in cities such as New York, the chances of having Amerindian blood is not high, hence the excitement generated if it is found. That being the case, although I am Australian, I might well be one of those who can claim Amerindian blood, not through North America, but via Chile. One of my ancestors, whom we know as Austin Alterator, came from outside Valparaiso to Australia as a muleteer in 1840. He was a huaso(horsemaster), many of whom were mixed Spanish/Amerindian blood.

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