Paisa Region - Genetics

Genetics

The Paisas have been considered a genetically isolated population according to scientific studies. As evidenced by the analysis of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomal markers, the initial founding of the Paisa population occurred primarily through the admixture of Spanish males and Native females. Subsequently, within the emerging colonial society, marriage with individuals of Spanish ancestry was encouraged over marriage with individuals of Native ancestry, leading to the predominantly European ancestry of today's Paisa population. The mountains played a role in isolating the population until the end of the nineteenth century and the area's industrial revolution. The nineteenth and early twentieth century also brought European and Middle Eastern immigrants to the region, notably from Spain, Italy, Germany, Lebanon, France and Eastern Europe. Most of these immigrants ended up intermixing with the Paisa population.