Back in the sixties, when I started college, there were some forensic anthropology dudes that used shovel shaped incisors as the big diagnostic tool for race. I had that type of tooth shape, and was assured that was proof of Indian ancestry. (Or Asian, or Inuit – even less likely ancestry)
It never seemed all that likely – blond hair and blue eyes tend to suggest Sweden and Norway, a beard with touches of red suggests northern Europe. Dad did have a story of my grandfather visiting family in the nations – but no details. But the better educated folks of my undergrad days kept me looking – even as I became one of those more educated people.
Finally, while looking over the Dawes Rolls, I found a potential Indian link – Elizabeth McCurry, of North Carolina, had married a Choctaw. Her children were classified by the guy keeping records as 100% Indian. She was collateral, not ancestral to me. The Choctaw were one of the ‘Civilized Tribes’ and there was a lot of mixing in Appalachia.
Then 23 and me came along. The name is Scots – but originally from Ireland. I wasn’t particularly surprised to see 51.5% Nordic (those ancestral Scots were from the Isles, and had a bunch of Swedes and Norwegians – they called them Vikings before they became McDonald of the Isles- and I had Scandinavian grand parents. Long story short, 23 and Me found my ancestry lily-white, despite mt shovel shaped incisors. The physical anthropologists were wrong – the teeth are not a valid diagnostic tool for race. Then again, when we get into genetics, the visual differences between different races really come across as invalid.
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