In Mexico, the term () refers to an

identity Identity may refer to: * Identity document * Identity (philosophy) * Identity (social science) * Identity (mathematics) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film * ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...

of those of mixed

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(mainly

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

) and

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

(mainly

Mesoamerican Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the lands of central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El S ...

) ancestry. Some believe it can be defined by criteria ranging from ideological and cultural to self-identification, genetic ancestry, or physical appearance. According to these criteria, estimates of the number of ''mestizos'' in Mexico vary from about 40% of the population to over 90% (including Indigenous people that do not recognize themselves as part of an Indigenous culture and

White Mexicans White Mexicans () are Mexicans of total or predominantly European or West Asian ancestry. The Mexican government conducts ethnic censuses that allow individuals to identify as "White",en el censo de 1930 el gobierno mexicano dejó de clasificar a la población del país en tres categorías raciales, blanco, mestizo e indígena, y adoptó una nueva clasificación étnica que distinguía a los hablantes de lenguas indígenas del resto de la población, es decir de los hablantes de español.
The meaning of the word ''mestizo'' has changed with time; it was originally used in the

colonial era Colonial period (a period in a country's history where it was subject to management by a colonial power) may refer to: Continents *European colonization of the Americas * Colonisation of Africa * Western imperialism in Asia Countries * Col ...

to refer to individuals who had one Spanish and one

parent. Although the caste system and racial classification were officially abandoned when Mexico became

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, the label ''mestizo'' was still used in academic circles to refer to people of

mixed race The term multiracial people refers to people who are mixed with two or more races and the term multi-ethnic people refers to people who are of more than one ethnicities. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mul ...

. A ''mestizo'' ideology was created (exemplified by the

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexicans, Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial pers ...

essay ''

La raza cósmica ''La raza cósmica'' (''The Cosmic Race'') is a Spanish-language book written and published in 1925 by Mexican philosopher, secretary of education, and 1929 presidential candidate José Vasconcelos to express the ideology of a future "fifth race" ...

'') that ''mestizos'' are the result of racial mixing, and all Mexico must become ''mestizo'' so the country could achieve prosperity. After the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, the government adopted and promoted the ''mestizo'' ideology to create a unified Mexican identity with no racial distinctions. By 1930, racial identities other than "Indigenous" disappeared from the Mexican census. All Mexicans who did not speak Indigenous languages (including European Mexicans) were now considered ''mestizo'', transforming a racial identity into a national one. People of different

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology (physical form and structure), its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological propert ...

s make up Mexico's ''mestizo'' population, with many being of predominantly European or predominantly Indigenous ancestry. Since the term has a number of socio-cultural, economic, racial and genetic meanings, estimates of the Mexican ''mestizo'' population vary widely. The ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' estimate that around two-thirds of the Mexican population is ''mestizo''. As Mexico's national identity, all Mexicans who are not Indigenous and participate in the nation's

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

may be considered ''mestizo'' (culturally Mexican) regardless of racial background. The word had disappeared from the popular Mexican vocabulary long ago, since it had a pejorative connotation. Some modern academics have challenged the ''mestizo'' concept on the grounds that census data indicates that marriages between people of different races were rare; they argue that the ideology has incentivized racism rather than ending it, denying Mexico's distinct ethnic groups and cultures.

History

When the term ''mestizo'' and the caste system were introduced to Mexico is unknown, but the earliest surviving records categorizing people by "qualities" (as castes were known in early colonial Mexico) are late-18th-century church birth and marriage records. An extensive caste system assigned a name to each possible racial combination; unlike later definitions of ''mestizo'', in these records it referred only to people with half-Spanish and half-Indigenous ancestry. The system is present in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

's first national census (in 1793), in which ''castizo'', ''pardo'', ''mulatto'' and ''zambo'' are also collectively listed as "castes". The caste system and racial censuses were legally abandoned after independence, and academics who reviewed and republished the census figures referred to the castes simply as ''mestizos''. Mestizo

A number of historians have questioned the existence of a caste system, considering it a fabrication by historians which began during the 1940s.

Pilar Gonzalbo Pilar Gonzalbo Aizpuru (13 January 1935 in Madrid, Spain - 26 February 2024) was a Spanish-Mexican academic who specialized in the cultural history of New Spain. In 2007 she received, along archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, the National ...

, in her study "The Trap of the Caste", discards the idea of a caste-based society in New Spain understood as a "social organization based on the race and supported by coercive power". Casta painting all

Recent scholarship questions the existence of a caste system and reviewing the use of terms in colonial sources. According to a journal article, "In the twentieth century, the prestige of authors such as Angel Rosenblat and Gonzalo Aguirre Beltrán, who unreservedly admitted the concept of society of caste, has determined the perpetuation of a myth of social stratification based on race". The new definition of ''mestizo'' was used in the 1921 census (the second nationwide census which included a comprehensive racial classification). The census was conducted after the Mexican Revolution, when the government was rebuilding the country and hoped to unite all Mexicans in a single national identity. The government found the identity in the ''mestizo'' ideology forged by the academics and politicians

and

Manuel Gamio Manuel Gamio (1883–1960) was a Mexican anthropologist, archaeologist, sociologist, and a leader of the '' indigenismo'' movement. Although he rejected full sovereignty for indigenous communities in Mexico, he argued that their self-governing or ...

, which asserted that Mexican ''mestizos'' resulted from mixing all the races; with the best qualities of each race, Mexico would achieve prosperity when the country's entire population became ''mestizo''. By the 1930 census the racial classifications of "White" and "Mestizo" had disappeared, and all Mexicans who did not speak an Indigenous language were implicitly considered ''mestizo''. The government also implemented cultural policies designed to "help" Indigenous peoples achieve the same level of progress as ''mestizo'' society, eventually assimilating them into mainstream Mexican culture to solve the "Indian problem" by transforming Indigenous communities into ''mestizo'' ones. Although the concept of ''mestizo'' has been generally praised in Mexican intellectual circles, it has recently been criticized; according to detractors, it delegitimizes the importance of race in Mexico by saying that "(racism) oesnot exist here (in Mexico), as everybody is Mestizo." A study concludes that Mexico introducing racial classification and accepting itself as a multicultural country (rather than a monolithic ''mestizo'' country) would benefit Mexican society as a whole. Other critics say that the ideology could not homogenize Mexico's races because it sought to "whiten" Indigenous peoples rather than "Indianize" whites and accidentally erased minority ethnic groups (such as Afro-Mexicans) from history. Outside Mexico, the word ''mestizo'' is still used to refer to people with mixed Indigenous and European ancestry. This does not conform to present-day Mexican usage, where a person of Indigenous genetic heritage would be considered ''mestizo'' by rejecting his Indigenous culture or not speaking an Indigenous language and a person with little (or no) Indigenous genetic heritage would be considered Indigenous by speaking an Indigenous language or identifying with an Indigenous cultural heritage. In some regions, such as the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

, ''mestizo'' refers to Maya-speaking populations in traditional communities for historical reasons. In

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

, ''

Ladino Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to: * Judeo-Spanish language (ISO 639–3 lad), spoken by Sephardic Jews *Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especially in Guatemala * Black ladinos, a ...

'' is used instead of ''mestizo''. ''Mestizo'' is not widely used in contemporary Mexican society; its use is limited to social and cultural studies when referring to the non-Indigenous Mexican population. It has a pejorative connotation; most Mexicans who would be defined as ''mestizos'' in sociological literature would probably self-identify as Mexicans, complicating their quantification via self-identification. This contrasts with ethno-racial terms such as "Indian", "White" and "Black", still common in everyday Mexican social interactions.

Genetic studies

Population genetics

Mexicans who are genetically ''mestizo'' are primarily of

and Native American ancestry. At the end of the colonial period, about 10 percent of the population (Euromestizos and Indomestizos were estimated at 1,000,000 and 600,000, respectively). The ''mestizo'' ideology, which has blurred racial lines at the institutional level, has significantly influenced Mexican genetic studies. Since the criteria used in studies to determine if a Mexican is ''mestizo'' or Indigenous are often cultural traits (such as language spoken) instead of racial self-identification or a phenotype-based selection, studies of populations considered Indigenous because of the language spoken (like the

Nahuas The Nahuas ( ) are a Uto-Nahuan ethnicity and one of the Indigenous people of Mexico, with Nahua minorities also in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. They comprise the largest Indigenous group in Mexico, as well as ...

from

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

) indicate a higher degree of European genetic admixture than populations considered ''mestizo'' in other studies. Populations considered ''mestizo'' are also genetically closer to continental European peoples (like those in

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

) or

European Americans European Americans are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes both people who descend from the first European settlers in the area of the present-day United States and people who descend from more recent European arrivals. Since th ...

(like those in

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

Autosomal studies

The genetic ancestry of Mestizo Mexicans varies by methodology and study. Typically, older studies have pointed towards a heavier European admixture while more recent ones commonly show a dominant Native American component. Admixture also varies by region, wealth, and sample size. Findings from these studies show Native American admixture being more dominant in the Central and Southern regions of Mexico whereas European admixture is greater in the Northern and Western regions of Mexico. Some Mestizos may identify as "White," which generally indicates that European ancestry is the dominant element in their genetic makeup. This identity often reflects a heritage where European characteristics are the most visible or prominent in their appearance. However, this typically does ''not'' mean they are purely European in ancestry and likely have significant native contribution. Genetic research on the Mexican population is abundant, and has yielded a variety of results. Genetic studies in the same location vary. In

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, studies indicate an average

ancestry ranging from 38 to 78 percent; in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, European admixture ranges from 21 to 70 percent. Reasons for the variation may include the socioeconomic background of the analyzed samples and the criteria for recruiting volunteers. Some studies only analyze Mexicans who self-identify as ''mestizo'', and others classify the entire Mexican population as ''mestizo''. Other studies may do both, such as the 2009 genetic study published by the Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica (INMEGEN) which reported that 93 percent of the Mexican population is ''mestizo''; the remainder were

. However, the INMEGEN study only recruited people who self-identified as ''mestizo''. Some studies avoid racial classification, including anyone who self-identifies as Mexican. This ''may'' suggest that studies that use a more inclusive classification have higher European ancestry, but at the moment it is undetermined. Regardless of criteria, the autosomal DNA studies agree that there is significant genetic variation depending on the region analyzed. Southern Mexico has the most prevalent Amerindian ancestry and small (but higher than average) African genetic contributions; Central Mexico (where most of the population lives) leans towards the Native American component. European admixture gradually increases in the West and especially the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

. In cities on the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

, studies suggest a significant resurgence of Amerindian and African admixture. A 2006 INMEGEN study which genotyped 104 samples from the states of Sonora, Yucatan, Guerrero, Zacatecas, Veracruz, and Guanajuato, reported that ''mestizo'' Mexicans in those areas combined average 59 percent European, 35 percent "Asian" (primarily Amerindian), and 5 percent other. INMEGEN research has found that Mexico's ''mestizo'' population is not uniform in its genetic composition, with significant regional variation. Light-skinned ''mestizos'' predominate in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

, and ''mestizos'' from the central region (

Guanajuato Guanajuato, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato, is one of the 32 states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guanajuato, 46 municipalities and its cap ...

and

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

) are split between Indigenous and European composition. The highest African contribution in the twelve participating

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

(representative of the country's major

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

) was found in

Guerrero Guerrero, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guerrero, is one of the 32 states that compose the administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Guerrero, 85 municipalities. The stat ...

and

, and the highest Asian contribution was found in Guerrero and Sonora. However, In 2009 INMEGEN published an updated version of the study with a much larger sample size of 300 identified mestizos. The combined admixture average resulted in modest variation, with 55.2% Native American, 41.8% European, 1.8% African, and 1.2% Asian. In this group, Sonora had the most European admixture at 61.6%, while Guerrero had the least amount of European admixture at only 28.5%. Researchers in other reports have indicated that recent samples are more likely to contain a dominant Native American component compared to older ones. Researchers Francisco Salzano and Mónica Sans stated, "European ancestry is most prevalent in the north (Chihuahua, 50%; Sonora, 62%; Nuevo León, 55%), but in a recent sample from Nuevo León and elsewhere in the country, Amerindian ancestry is dominant." According to a nationwide autosomal DNA study from 2008, by the University of Brasília (UnB), Mexican genetic admixture is 60.1% Native American, 29.8% European, and 10.1% African. In 2014, researchers Francisco Salzano and Mónica Sans looked through approximately twenty previous studies done on the admixture of Mexicans. Their general conclusion was the average Mexican is more Native American than European. Subsequently, in 2015, a separate team of researchers performed a meta-analysis, incorporating the findings of many previous studies with additional research. This comprehensive analysis revealed a genetic composition with an average of 62% Native American, 32% European, and 6% African. A

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

study which included Mexico, Brazil, Chile and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, conducted with each country's anthropology and genetics institutes, reported that the genetic ancestry of Mexican ''mestizos'' was 60 percent Native American, 36 percent European and 4% African, making Mexico (after Peru and Bolivia) the country with the highest Amerindian ancestry of the five sample populations however this mostly used individuals from the southern region of Mexico with little representation of the north, which comprises a significant portion of the population. Phenotypical traits were analyzed; the frequency of blond hair and light eyes in Mexicans was 18.5 and 28.5 percent, respectively,"Admixture in Latin America: Geographic Structure, Phenotypic Diversity and Self-Perception of Ancestry Based on 7,342 Individuals" table 1
''Plosgenetics'', 25 September 2014. Retrieved on 9 May 2017. giving Mexico the study's second-highest frequency of blond hair. The reason for the discrepancy between phenotypical traits and genetic ancestry may lie in the low African contribution in the Mexican population compared with that of Brazil and Colombia. An extensive study published in 2020 estimated Mexican mestizo admixture using HLA class I and class II allele groups. The sample group was a total of 15,318 mixed ancestry Mexicans from all states of the country. Genetic estimators revealed that the main genetic components in Mexico as a whole are Native American (ranging from 37.8% in the northern part of the country to 81.5% in the southeastern region) and European (ranging from 11.5% in the southeast to 62.6% in northern Mexico). Additional studies correlate a tendency toward higher European admixture with higher socioeconomic status, and higher Amerindian ancestry with lower socioeconomic status. A study of low-income ''mestizos'' in Mexico City found the mean admixture 0.590, 0.348 and 0.062 for Amerindian, European and African, respectively. European admixture was found to be about 70 percent on average for ''mestizos'' in one report in which they're suggested to be at a higher socioeconomic level, however, this data was published in 1978, which could make the findings outdated. A 2011

autosomal An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in autosome ...

DNA study conducted in Mexico City with 1,310 samples indicated that the average proportion of Native American, European, and African ancestry for the population was 64, 32 and four percent, respectively. Additional autosomal DNA studies conducted on people from Mexico City show a predominantly Native American background, with Native American ancestry ranging from 61 to 69 percent in five studies. The number of people sampled in the studies ranged from 66 to 984. An

outlier In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations. An outlier may be due to a variability in the measurement, an indication of novel data, or it may be the result of experimental error; the latter are ...

study indicated a predominantly-European background for Mexico City ''mestizos'': 57 percent European ancestry, 40 percent Native American ancestry, and three percent African ancestry. However, the study sampled only 19 people making it unlikely to be representative.

MtDna and Y DNA studies

A 2012 study published by the ''

Journal of Human Genetics The ''Journal of Human Genetics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of human genetics and genomics. It was established in 1956 as the ''Japanese Journal of Human Genetics'' and was independently published by the Ja ...

'' of

Y chromosome The Y chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in therian mammals and other organisms. Along with the X chromosome, it is part of the XY sex-determination system, in which the Y is the sex-determining chromosome because the presence of the ...

s found the paternal ancestry of the Mexican ''mestizo'' population predominately European (64.9 percent), followed by Amerindian (30.8 percent) and African (1.2 percent). The European Y chromosome was more prevalent in the north and west (66.7 to 95 percent), and Native American ancestry increased in the center and southeast (37 to 50 percent); African ancestry relatively homogeneous (2 to 8.8 percent). States participating in the study where

Aguascalientes Aguascalientes, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Aguascalientes, is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. At 22°N and with an average altitude of above sea level it is pre ...

, Chiapas, Chihuahua,

Oaxaca Oaxaca, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca, is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of the Mexico, United Mexican States. It is divided into municipalities of Oaxaca, 570 munici ...

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

and

Yucatán Yucatán, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate municipalities, and its capital city is Mérida. ...

. The greatest number of chromosomes found were identified as belonging to

haplogroups A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the , ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and ) is a group of similar haplotypes that share a common ancestor with a sing ...

from

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, East Europe and Eurasia, Siberia and the Americas and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

, with traces of haplogroups from

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

the Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, incl ...

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

, the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

Northeast Asia Northeast Asia or Northeastern Asia is a geographical Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia. Its northeastern landmass and islands are bounded by the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean. The term Northeast Asia was popularized during the 1930s by Ame ...

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. A study published in 2011 of Mexican

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

found that maternal ancestry was predominately Native American (85–90 percent), with a minority having European (five to seven percent) or African (three to five percent) mtDNA. A Mexico City autosomal ancestry study found that the European ancestry of Mexicans was 52 percent; the remainder was primarily Amerindian, with a small African contribution. Maternal ancestry was also analyzed, with 47 percent of European origin. The only criterion for sample selection was that the volunteers self-identified as Mexican. However, the sample pool was rather low at only 37 participants making its accuracy dubious at best.

Culture

New Spain developed a culture distinct from Indigenous and Spanish culture, with African and low Asian influences. After independence, the Mexican population was estimated at 50–60 percent Indigenous, 18 to 22 percent Creole and about two percent Black; the rest of the population (21 to 25 percent) was considered ''mestizo'', an important part of the independence movement.

Music

The is a musical ensemble primarily consisting of wind instruments, brass, and percussion. The history of Mexican ''mestizo'' music dates back to the mid-nineteenth century arrival of piston brass instruments, when communities tried to imitate military bands.

Cuisine

''Mestizo'' cuisine combines produce such as corn, chili peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and fruits and brushes from the Americas with meat and produce from Europe such as beef and chicken, wheat, and many old world fruits. Prior to European contact, only meats such as turkeys, deer,

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

and fish were consumed. Europe introduced other meats (such as pork, goat, and sheep), dairy products (especially cheese and milk), and rice into Mexican cuisine. African and Asian influences also minimally influenced

Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cuisines and associated traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican Cuisine, Mesoamerican cuisine. Mexican cuisine's ingredients and methods arise from the area's first agr ...

. Mexican cuisine is an important aspect of the culture, social structure, and popular traditions of ''mestizo'' Mexico. An example of this blended cuisine is the use of

mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole" * Golden mole, southern African mammals * Marsupial mole Marsupial moles, the Notoryctidae family, are two species of highly specialized marsupial mammals that are found i ...

for special occasions and holidays throughout the country. Traditional Mexican cuisine was added to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity UNESCO established its Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the aim of ensuring better protection of important intangible cultural heritages worldwide and the awareness of their significance.Compare: This list is published by the Intergover ...

in 2010.

References and footnotes

External links

Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica
{{Ethnic groups in Mexico Mestizo Ethnic groups in Mexico * . African diaspora in Mexico Asian diaspora in Mexico Mexican people of Asian descent