Our Spanish ancestry – A rainbow of lineages!

It all started with Lucy, the 3.2 million old hominid that was found by scientists Donald Johanson and Tom Gray, during an anthropological expedition in 1973. Lucy’s decaying remains laid undisturbed along the dusty terrain in an area known as the Afar Depression in Ethiopia, that is, until Mr. Johanson spotted a fossil of the upper end of a shinbone.

As Johanson and Gray continued their search, more fossils lay nearby and by the time they were through, almost 40% of a female skeleton was formed. Lucy earned her name, after the Beatles’ song, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” a song that the expedition team played over and over while they searched for signs of ancient remnants. This was the big one!

Lucy may be humankind’s million year old ancestor but as time went on, her ape like appearance changed and changed and changed to what we’ve become; upright walking human beings in all shapes and colors. As humans began to multiply and travel, their appearance, language and habits began to change. Civilizations were formed throughout the world that were different from one another.

SEE ALSO: If you’re Hispanic, chances are you were born right here in the US

As Hispanics, our roots began with the land of Spain. A southern country located in Western Europe, Spain became a departure point for many numerous expeditions led by determined and willful explorers. These men made travel seem like a walk in the park, when indeed, it was hazardous at best. Their travels took them to faraway places such as the Philippine Islands but mostly they travelled to the South and Central American regions of the western hemisphere.

It was in these regions where they not only invaded the lands but conquered the indigenous populations as well; but they also left behind their names, language and culture. This to such an extent that today their characteristics are reflected in millions of people.

Certainly the influence of our Spanish ancestors can be seen all the over the world but no where is this influence felt as much as it is in the western hemisphere. In America, where the number of persons of Hispanic origin is close to 50 million, an entire month’s time is set aside to recognize and honor our particular background. Even though some prefer to be called Latino, it is our “Spanish heritage” that is particularly celebrated. For millions of us that claim both Spanish and indigenous backgrounds, we are called mestizos.

But not all persons with Spanish surnames claim to be mestizos, millions claim they only have native South and North American backgrounds while others claim to be only Spanish. And therein begins the problem of what to call ourselves. Spain is actually a composite country of varied backgrounds. The first to appear in the country were the Libyan people, followed by the Celts which together formed the race, Celt Iberians. The next to arrive were the Phoenicians followed by Greeks, Romans, Sephardic Jews, Arabs, Africans and later people from all parts of western Europe.

SEE ALSO: How Hispanics helped win the American Revolution

Thus, with so many varied races of people settling in Spain what is our REAL ancestry?

For years, I thought my background was a mixture of native South American and Spanish. Yet, through a recent examination of my ancestral background, I discovered that much of my background is southern European divided almost equally with native North and South American. But to my surprise I discovered that I am 18% Scandinavian.

In my particular case, I’d like to credit my maternal grandfather whose family travelled from Catalonia to Mexico but who knows? I do know one thing; I am not the only person of Hispanic heritage with a variety of mixed European, African, Middle Eastern and native blood. In essence, given the history of Spain, the people of Spanish origin can claim bloodlines to just about every racial and ethnic group in the world.

And during this month of Hispanic heritage celebration it may be just the time for us to make an effort to dig further into our backgrounds and thereby learn more about our actual makeup; which may surprise you just as much as it did me.