African-American genetics

[Planet Asia]

So that people will quit overestimating the amount of non-African mixture in AAs. In Parra et al's 1998 study on AAs. In his study, Parra found that European mixture in AAs ranged from 6.8% in Jamaicans to 22.5% in Louisiana:





As you can see there is no one uniform pattern of mixture that describes the total proportion of European mixture in AAs. Depending on whom is tested and where, the percentage of admixture flucuates

[Planet Asia]

In the same study, the same admixture percentages were calculated using autosomal markers which give a much more accurate assessment of overall population relationships.

[Atreyu]

I think people confuse aa\'s with real mulattos such as berry.

[Planet Asia]

People over estimate the amount of European mixture in AAs period as well as Native American mixture.

[aroundtheworld]

I think those numbers are pretty significant. It's not like the 2% of SSA genes found in turks or something. 16% is a lot.

[Agrippa]

As you can see there is no one uniform pattern of mixture that describes the total proportion of European mixture in AAs. Depending on whom is tested and where, the percentage of admixture flucuates

Obviously. Interestingly most racial typologists which examined African Americans estimated the admixture being between 15-25 percent from what I know (so an inverted "quadroon" for the whole population).

So that results seem to be fair and realistic.

[Planet Asia]

aroundtheworld said:

I think those numbers are pretty significant. It's not like the 2% of SSA genes found in turks or something. 16% is a lot.

16% is relatively low, a far cry from the 25-50% people keep proposing.

[Planet Asia]

agrippa said:

As you can see there is no one uniform pattern of mixture that describes the total proportion of European mixture in AAs. Depending on whom is tested and where, the percentage of admixture flucuates

Obviously. Interestingly most racial typologists which examined African Americans estimated the admixture being between 15-25 percent from what I know (so an inverted "quadroon" for the whole population).

So that results seem to be fair and realistic.

Those amounts of mixtue are certainly not nearly enough to call us AAs a mixed race or mulatto race of people.

[Agrippa]

bertrand said:

Those amounts of mixtue are certainly not nearly enough to call us AAs a mixed race or mulatto race of people.

Well, the problem is if you say "us". I even knew some mulattoes - even a friend of mine in childhood/youth - which looked LESS Europid (though his mother was Nordic) than some AA. On the other hand I knew some AA in my city, the difference to Nigerians and other SSA was just striking - I suspect thats social selection because that was no exception, because she looked very harmonious and like an Aethiopid, whereas I saw a documentary about a bad city district in the South of the US in which I really saw no single individual with real Europoid influence.

So "us" in an ethnic sense says the same about the racial composition as if some Sudanese so called "Arabs" would speak of themselves...individuals are one thing, groups another, and about 1/4 admixture is nothing you can forget, especially if certain social groups might exhibit a much higher level.

[Planet Asia]

agrippa said:

bertrand said:

Those amounts of mixtue are certainly not nearly enough to call us AAs a mixed race or mulatto race of people.

Well, the problem is if you say "us". I even knew some mulattoes - even a friend of mine in childhood/youth - which looked LESS Europid (though his mother was Nordic) than some AA. On the other hand I knew some AA in my city, the difference to Nigerians and other SSA was just striking - I suspect thats social selection because that was no exception, because she looked very harmonious and like an Aethiopid, whereas I saw a documentary about a bad city district in the South of the US in which I really saw no single individual with real Europoid influence.

So "us" in an ethnic sense says the same about the racial composition as if some Sudanese so called "Arabs" would speak of themselves...individuals are one thing, groups another, and about 1/4 admixture is nothing you can forget, especially if certain social groups might exhibit a much higher level.

If I can find the study on my laptop, there was a study done comparing AA skeletons to Africans and Europeans and not surprisingly, the AA skeletons showed very strong and closer affinities to the African ones. We may carry some lineages of non-African origin but it certainly does not bump us far out of the range of variability found in Africans.

[Agrippa]

If I can find the study on my laptop, there was a study done comparing AA skeletons to Africans and Europeans and not surprisingly, the AA skeletons showed very strong and closer affinities to the African ones. We may carry some lineages of non-African origin but it certainly does not bump us far out of the range of variability found in Africans.

Africans sure, but African is not the best term for Negrid since in Africa live many types ranging from Nordoid Berbers to Bambutid Pygmies to mention just the most extreme cases.

But I would agree with you in general. Negrid areas with stronger Europoid influence (may it be direct admixture or local development into the Europid direction) might be representative.

Though again, thats like arguing about were white Americans fit in best - well it depends - a man of Swedish descent in Sweden and of Sicilian in Sicily most likely...

Its similar with AA, some fit better into Senegal, others into Nigeria, some even into Mocambique and many in Ethiopia as well. Neither is Africa a block nor are AA one...

[Planet Asia]

agrippa said:

If I can find the study on my laptop, there was a study done comparing AA skeletons to Africans and Europeans and not surprisingly, the AA skeletons showed very strong and closer affinities to the African ones. We may carry some lineages of non-African origin but it certainly does not bump us far out of the range of variability found in Africans.

Africans sure, but African is not the best term for Negrid since in Africa live many types ranging from Nordoid Berbers to Bambutid Pygmies to mention just the most extreme cases.

But I would agree with you in general. Negrid areas with stronger Europoid influence (may it be direct admixture or local development into the Europid direction) might be representative.

Though again, thats like arguing about were white Americans fit in best - well it depends - a man of Swedish descent in Sweden and of Sicilian in Sicily most likely...

Its similar with AA, some fit better into Senegal, others into Nigeria, some even into Mocambique and many in Ethiopia as well. Neither is Africa a block nor are AA one...

The samples used in the study were San, Pygmies, Senegalese, Angola, Nigerians, Ghanaians, and Ivory Coast. Not surprisngly agina they grouped closest to West Africans with Pygmies and San being very distant. They should have used some East African samples, but since AAs don't have a strong East African component they weren't used.

[tikitorch]

I heard in places like D.C., the African Americans are really white looking.

[Planet Asia]

tikitorch said:

I heard in places like D.C., the African Americans are really white looking.

That is nonsense. D.C. is almost 70% black and most of them are not even close to white looking.

[eufrenio]

Admixture is still too high to be considered non-significant. Add to that Amerindian admixture, and that makes AA´s a mixed-race population.