[Scientific approaches to the Mexican mestizo]

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Genomics
• Medical Anthropology

Context:

• The colonial-era concept of 'mestizo' significantly influenced Mexican national identity post-revolution.
• This dual classification (Indian-mestizo) structured state ethnic and political relations.
• Biomedical and anthropological studies historically utilized biological markers to differentiate populations.

Purpose:

• To analyze the interplay between the ideological and scientific constructions of the mestizo category.
• To examine how genomic data has contributed to the scientistic understanding of mestizo ancestry.
• To introduce the concepts of the
• molecular mestizo
• and
• bioinformatic mestizo
• as technoscientific objects.

Summary:

• The study explores how the colonial category of 'mestizo' in Mexico evolved from an ideological construct to a scientifically defined entity.
• It details the use of biomedical markers and, more recently, genomic data to categorize mestizo populations based on ancestry percentages (Indian, European, African).
• The research highlights the emergence of new technoscientific concepts, the 'molecular mestizo' and 'bioinformatic mestizo', resulting from these scientific advancements.

Impact:

• This research provides critical insights into the social construction of race and identity through scientific discourse.
• It demonstrates how scientific methodologies can both reflect and reinforce existing social and political categories.
• Understanding these interactions is crucial for deconstructing racialized science and promoting more equitable representations of human diversity.