What is Indigenous Americas-Central DNA Ethnicity on Ancestry?

In this article we will be looking more closely at the Indigenous Americas Central DNA region. We will look at where it is and who the indigenous people of that region were. So find out more about your DNA ancestors of this region read on.

History of Humans in the Americas

The Land Bridge:

Although there is no exact date for when humans first arrived in the Americas there are several prevailing theories. The most common one of course being the land bridge theory. During the last ice age between 19,000 – 8700 BC, sea levels were 100 feet below the modern-day. This was due to vast quantities of water being frozen in glacier form.

During that last ice age, the Bering sea as we know it today was actually a land bridge reaching all the way to Siberia. It is thought that around 14,000 years ago stone age hunters and gatherers followed game across this land bridge and became the first humans to settle within the Americas.

It is also believed that gradually these settlers then headed deeper into the Americas, traveling south in small groups. Due to the ongoing effects of the ice age these groups remained small because conditions were not conducive with large settlements or nomadic tribes.

Today's Indigenous peoples likely descend from a now-vanished ancient group known as the Paleo-Siberians. In DNA testing Indigenous Americans' DNA has little in common with modern-day Siberians but in 2019 a 10,000 year old skeleton found in Siberia did show notable similarities to modern-day Native peoples in the Americas.

Traveling by Sea:

There exist several theories whereby early indigenous people of the Americas may have interacted and bred with oceanic explorers prior to the arrival of Columbus. In DNA tests taken of inhabitants of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), these people showed small sections of Native American DNA.

Easter Island is over 2000 miles away from the closest contact with the Americas which would be the coast of Chile. The DNA suggests that these Easter Islanders had a Native American Ancestor from around 1280 – 1495 A.D. It is therefore likely these seafaring Polynesians made the trip to the Americas and some may have stayed.

Recent archaeological evidence also indicates that Vikings were present in the United States around the 11th century A.D. It is reasonable to assume there would be a possibility that some may have settled and assimilated into local tribes.

Indigenous Americas Central DNA Region

The indigenous Americas Central DNA region is a relatively small area which unsurprisingly is connected to Central America. It encompasses the countries of El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and Nicaragua almost in their entirety. There is also some spillover of this common DNA type into southeastern Guatemala.

Indigenous History of Honduras

Central to the Indigenous Americas Central region is the country of Honduras which in pre-Columbian history was separated into two main cultural regions. These were Mesoamerican to the west and isthmo-Colombian to the east.

These two cultural regions in the country produced their own diverse civilizations and influence from more extensive empires from the regions north and south of the country. The Maya for example who were found in the extreme west of what we know as Honduras today were a Mesoamerican civilization that many still know of today.

The isthmo-Colombian region of the country was mainly dominated by groups speaking the Chibchan languages. These included the Pech, Rama, Maleku, Bribri, Cabecar, Guaymi, Naso and Kuna peoples to name but a few.

These isthmo-Colombian peoples could be found throughout much of eastern Central America not only in Honduras but also El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Columbia.

The Spanish

It was upon Columbus’ fourth voyage to the New World that he would make land near the modern day city of Trujillo on the Honduran coastal region. He would send his brother Bartholomew to explore the surrounding Islands where he encountered a Mayan trading vessel carrying a rich cargo. Bartholomew’s men stole the cargo and kidnapped the captain.

The Maya, already in political decline by this point, would find themselves in conflict with the Spanish decades later when the Conquistadors finally made a mainland landfall in 1524. The Spanish would greatly deplete the once great empire but small villages of Maya would carry on and their genetic influence still exists today in the region.

How Did You Inherit Indigenous American DNA?

It is important to note that due to the small number of original humans that likely crossed the land bridge and thousands of years of isolation, Indigenous DNA is very distinct. This is even more so the case with the Indigenous Americas Central DNA region.

Likely a combination of Mayan and Chibchan speaking peoples, the indigenous people of this region passed down their DNA to the present population and the world at large through immigration.

Many individuals from South and Central America may have some Indigenous DNA based on intermarriage between early Spanish settlers and local native groups such as the Maya.

Depending on how high your percentage of Indigenous American DNA is, its origins can vary. If you have a high percentage you may have a recent ancestor who was 100% Indigenous. Often if this is the case you would likely have some idea of this.

In lower percentages of Native DNA, it might be an indication of a more distant unknown indigenous ancestor. In order to discover this connection, you may have to do some deep research to try and pinpoint at what point that DNA entered your family tree.

Can DNA Tell You a Specific Group You Descend From?

Sadly the answer to this question is no, DNA cannot attribute your ancestry to a specific indigenous group. It may help you focus your research on a region but due to the sometimes nomadic lifestyle of indigenous peoples, there was often a lot of overlap in territories.

It would be hard to find out who your earliest indigenous ancestor from this region may have been, mainly due to the large-scale annexation of the population in this region by the Spanish in the 16th century.

Final Thoughts

This region that once saw the might of the height of the Mayan civilization like the rest of South and Central America was taken over by Europeans. The DNA of those indigenous peoples is still highly present in those living there today or whose ancestors came from Central America.

It is possible that those exhibiting DNA from this region may have ancestors who were Mayans or part of some other peoples of the region. What is certain is that they descend from the earliest peoples to inhabit the Americas.

Neil Edwards

Genealogist and family-tree research specialist

Neil was born in Shropshire, England surrounded by centuries of living history. His interest in the past has been a lifelong passion leading to undergraduate degrees in both Economic History & Geography and History & Politics.

This interest in history quickly translated to family history when he moved to the U.S. in 2010. It was here that he began working on his own family tree as well as that of his American wife. That research allowed him to gain a wealth of experience working with both U.S. and European genealogical documents and studying their best uses in researching family history.

Following 9 years of honing his genealogical research skills, Neil was proud to have earned a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University in late 2019. Neil also took part in the research process for a Duke University study into the families of 19th Century UK Members of Parliament.

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