6 Ancient Minorities That Intrigue Scientists

Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – Sometimes we come across people who live in places where they don’t seem to belong. In many parts of the world, there are small groups of people differ a lot from the rest of the local population. They are different in appearance; they speak a strange language and they follow traditions and customs unknown in the region.

Who are these people? Where did they come from? These are questions scientists have tried to answer, but it’s not always possible to shed light on the ancestry of minorities.

6 Ancient Minorities That Intrigue Scientists

Several unusual tribes have caught scientists’ interests and attempts to unravel where these people originally came from have been made, but DNA studies have left us with many unanswered questions. Historians do have theories, but in most cases, more evidence is required to determine why these people ended up in certain countries. Did they migrate in ancient times? Why is their DNA so different from locals?

We will now examine six ancient minorities that have long fascinated scientists.

1. Who Are The Mysterious Melungeons?

The Melungeons have long claimed their ancestors were the Portuguese who came to the New World. Sometimes called the “Lost Tribe of Appalachia, the Melungeons occupy portions of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, and eastern Kentucky. It uncertain how small the population is but, it seems there are only about 200 people who can call themselves Melungeons. The ancestry and identity of the dark-skinned Melungeons who live in isolation have been a highly controversial subject. Scientists have assumed they Melungeons are thought to be of mixed European, African and Native American ancestry.

The Melungeons do have complicated roots, and their history became even more complex in 2012 when a DNA study revealed their direct lineage is more African than anything else.

Source: AncientPages.com – Read rest of the article here