Quote:
Originally Posted by queensgrl
Puerto Rico was independent before the Spanish. It was called Boriken, and was inhabited by indigenous people, many of whom died of disease. However, many escaped to the mountains. There is still a presence of these native people in the culture and it is present in the mtDNA of present-day Puerto Ricans.
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Boriken was the indigenous name of the island. I agree, at that time PR was independent. However, those people and their culture no longer exist today. Small pieces do, but not in it's entirety.
On the island, the vast majority of indigenous population was extinct within a short period of time of European exploration. Causes range from a lack of food sustainability to disease. Today, there are no Taino's left. Hasn't been for many generations.
The average DNA percentage of indigenous ancestry among Puerto Ricans taken in samples across the island is between 10-15%. MtDNA only means you had a female ancestor of that makeup at some point down your line. Could be 1 or 100 generations ago. Add in the slave trade or the more significant European immigration and you have a melting pot where most people are overwhelmingly European with little Sub-Saharan African and Indigenous DNA on average. Interestingly enough, many people also have North African, Middle Eastern, Central Asian, East Asian, and various European (beyond Spain) DNA too (from small to larger percentages). A true melting pot.
The culture today is heavily Spanish and American influenced with some Indigenous and African traits. Creating the unique situation that exist on the island.
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