DNA study reveals a Pretendian
Self-identified 'Ashaninka' turns out to be European
Pretendians expose themselves in many different ways. From unbelievable posts on social media to wild claims in mainstream sources, our favorite figures have a way of showing the world how fake and fraudulent they really can be.
But in what might be a first for Pretendian Country Today, one individual revealed themselves to be a fraud though their very own genomic profile. Yes, through the miracles of science, a group of researchers recently discovered that a “self-identified” Indigenous person is just your average European.
Here’s the key section from a newly-published study — titled “The multifaceted genomic history of Ashaninka from Amazonian Peru” — with a few words highlighted in bold:
It is worth mentioning that one individual, self-identified as Ashaninka (AD165; Data S1A), showed an almost complete European genomic profile (labeled as “Ashaninka_EU” in Figure 1B) and was not considered for further analyses on the Indigenous component(s).
The shade! Not only did the researchers remove this fake from their study, they tagged the person’s profile with “EU” — presumably for “European Union” — and let the whole world know about the DNA deceit. They also labeled him as “EUROPEAN” on one of the data tables.
Looking at the study closer, we see that AD165 is a male — just one of two males, in fact, whose genetic data was reviewed for the study. Everyone else’s DNA came from actual Ashaninka people from the Amazon region of Peru, according to the researchers.
Going even further, we see how researchers came to the conclusion that Mr. Ashaninka_EU (whoever that may be) is just a regular ol’ White Guy (tm). His mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, meaning the genetic material he received from his mother, was typed as H3aj, according to the data.
Now just where in the world is H3aj represented? Based on a highly unscientific sample of results collected by FamilyTreeDNA, a commercial genetic testing company, individuals with this maternal genetic profile hail from the United States, England, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Sweden and Ireland. NOWHERE near Peru, for the geographically challenged.
But who is Mr. Ashaninka_EU’s Daddy? We don’t have to tune into Maury to get some clues on this one. According to the data, this individual’s Y-DNA, meaning the genetic material a male child receives from his father, was typed as a J-L70 (J2a1h2a1).
And just where do the researchers place this Y-DNA haplogroup? In the Middle East!
With the scientific questions settled, a real big one remains. Just who is Mr. Ashaninka_EU? Some Indigenous “influencer” we haven’t yet come across on social media? A random guy who thinks he comes from Ashaninka people?
We don’t know for sure but Pretendian Country Today will be on the lookout for this elusive figure.
But if you are interested in the real Ashaninka who are the largest Indigenous group in the Amazonian areas of Peru, the study results are fascinating. The Ashaninka are rather diverse in terms of their genetics — a finding all the more impressive, since they have not experienced much intermarriage with non-Indigenous groups.
More here, with a few words in bold:
As for the impact of colonialism, the ADMIXTURE plots (on unmasked datasets) show that the Ashaninka have a low non-Indigenous component in their genomes.
According to the study, the Ashaninka people’s genetic material consist of at least two subgroups with distinct histories. Further, the researchers say the Ashaninka, who speak a language classified as Arawakan, show genetic connections to Indigenous peoples in the Caribbean, where other Arawakan languages have been spoken.
“In combination, these exciting findings open a new line of investigation focused on the inner regions of the American continent and highlight the importance of microgeographic studies, and of the history of a single and specific Indigenous group,” Dr. Marco Rosario Capodiferro said in news release from Trinity College Dublin. “They give value to the genetic and cultural heritage inherited from Indigenous groups and allow us to understand fundamental information that impacts the whole continent.”
