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Old 05-14-2008, 04:10 PM
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Devora Devora is offline
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The one that I know most people have used is the Genographic Project being run by the National Geographic Society. Go to their website and on the main page look in the lower left corner for the link. There is another project as well, but I don't recall the name of it or who is running it.

However, be aware that the Genographic Project won't actually tell you if your child is Mayan. It may tell you that your child's genes match Mayan groups in Guatemala, but today "Mayan" is more a cultural and self-identity designation than a racial group. Most Ladinos are, genetically, of Mayan descent. Some of them are mixed with Spanish or other groups, but most are predominantly Mayan in terms of their phenotype and genotype. Some Ladinos have, for many generations, separated themselves from any indigenous culture. So knowing your child's genetic ancestry will not tell you whether they come from a Ladino or Mayan culture. (Not to mention that the distinction is more fluid and complex than I just described it.)

For anyone who is interested in the complexities of indigenous identity in Guatemala I recommend reading Ch'orti'-Maya Survival in Eastern Guatemala: Indigeneity in Transition by Brent Metz. The popular notion of Guatemala and Mayan groups is of the western Highlands, but Metz did an ethnography of the Ch'orti' who live in the east (specifically, in the region of Chiquimula. It's a fascinating read, has taught me a lot about life in the eastern part of Guatemala, and illuminates the complexities of indigenous vs. Ladino identity.
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