Posted on 08/02/2005 10:20:13 AM PDT by hispanarepublicana
I've heard that too, although most Lincoln biographers dispute this claim, showing solid evidence that unless "a dog jumped the fence," Abe was of Welsh and English ancestry. Makes sense as he had the classic Welsh dark haired features (see Tom Jones and Catherine Zeta Jones).
Yes, they're Lumbees! And Locklear is a Lumbee descendent. It's interesting because she is so blonde. But that is a characteristic of these groups. Even children of the same family can be fair and blonde, dark and brunette and red-headed. So you really can't necessarily tell by appearance.
Yes, it's shovel teeth. You can probably find a drawing somewhere on the internet. I have one somewhere in my archives. You can tell by running your tongue along the back of your teeth. This is a characteristic that can carry forward by hundreds of years.
Never expect a movie to teach you history. The "blue" in braveheart was for Hollywood effect.
I saw a show with a British historian, and she said maybe very primitive tribes perhaps did this at one time, but the practice was way over by the time of Braveheart.
They also had a famous bridge battle in Braveheart without the bridge. Cost too much money. LOL.
delviverance alert.
I don't know if she's REALLY blonde. I saw a pic of her sis one time and she was dark haired.
"Even children of the same family can be fair and blonde, dark and brunette and red-headed."
Holy cow ! Don't let the good citizens of Pella, Iowa find out about this.
I've been reading off and on about melungeons for a few years. In terms of DNA, they are closely related to the people who live in Tripoli. The physical characteristics of the melungeons ( a bump on the back of the head) is something they have in common with the turks.The turkish word melungeon means damned people.I find melugeons fascinating.
The documentary (I believe it was from the National Geographic Channel) mentioned that Melungeon descendants often have shovel teeth.
I think I have shovel teeth, but one Uncle has a bump on the back of his head.
Here's a link to a picture (won't let me right-click). Yes, I do indeed have "shovel teeth", but that's probably thanks to the Mexican Indian in me. The info I read said it's an "Asian" or "Indian" trait. So, it's fair to say that if someone has shovel teeth, they are not pure Northern European?
doh! forgot the link: http://www.derweb.co.uk/imgsearch/imglibrary.asp?code=2580&UserID=20601
And... I've got the bump on the back of the head, too. But no relatives with the last names mentioned!
Never knew if he was kidding...
Picts.
(hundreds of FReepers currently sit at computers; one hand on mouse; one hand on back of head feeling for a lump).
That's my understanding, although I haven't read about this for a number of years.
snipped this from a web site:
MELUNGEON PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
There are some physiological characteristics which are called ethnic markers, that seem to
be passed on through the lines of some Melungeon descendants. There is a bump on the back of the HEAD of SOME descendants, that is located at mid-line, just ABOVE the juncture with the neck. It is about the size and shape of half a golf ball or smaller. This is called an ANATOLIAN BUMP, and indicates ancestry from the Anatolian region of Turkey. If you cannot find the bump, check to see if you, like some descendants, including myself, have a ridge, located at the base of the head where it joins the neck, rather than the Anatolian bump.
This ridge is an enlargement of the base of the skull, which is called a Central Asian Cranial Ridge. My ridge is quite noticeable. It is larger than anyone else's that I have felt, except my father's. I can lay one finger under it and the ridge is as deep as my finger is thick. Other ridges are smaller. To find a ridge, place your hand at the base of your neck where it joins your shoulders, and on the center line of your spine. Run your fingers straight up your neck toward your head. If you have a ridge, it will stop your fingers from going on up and across your head. ONLY people who live/d in the Anatolian region of Turkey or Central Asia also have this "bump/ridge.
"
There is also a ridge on the back of the first four teeth - two front teeth and the ones on either side (upper and lower) of some descendants. If you place your fingernail at the gum line and gently draw (up or down) you can feel it and it makes a slight clicking sound. The back of the teeth also curve outward rather than straight as the descendants of anglo-saxon parentage do. Teeth like these are called Asian Shovel Teeth.
Many Indian descendants also have this type of teeth. The back of the first four teeth of Northern European descendants are straight and flat.
What an interesting story! Just last night I was talking with my friend's girlfriend and this very topic came up. Her family is originally from North Carolina and fits many of the characteristics of the Melungeons. When I first met her, I thought she must be at least biracial, probably triracial, but I had no idea what races those were and which ones predominated in her heritage. Turns out, she doesn't know either. Her family has traced back their lineage all the way to mid-1700s North Carolina. They have yet to find a direct ancestor who was not of mixed race. They have searched for an ancestor who was all white or all black, and just cannot find one in 250 years. Most of the time, they can't even tell what races these ancestors were descended from - they just know that they were "mixed" but mixed what is anyone's guess. They theorize that their family is a mix of English, African, and Native American blood, but Melungeon is also a distinct possibility.
Have her do the "tooth & head" test. See my post #78.
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