Mapping the People of Central America (Rebooting an Old Project + What Happened to Masaman??)

What are the origins of the people of Central America? In today’s video we’ll be rebooting my old projects and mapping the many people groups of Central America including the countries of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. I was inspired by the works of Dr. Michael Mehrdad Izady, who specializes in ethnographic and religious maps of the Greater Middle East to map the many different groups in Central America including the Miskito, Garifuna, Creoles, Ladinos, Afro-Ladinos as well as dozens of groups of Native American Indians, European, Asian and Middle Eastern immigrant communities, who come together under the wider umbrella of a Hispanic/Latino cultural identity to form one of the most interesting places in the Americas and the world.
Full map download will be available soon once I find out where to upload the original large file or an abridged version of it. Thank you so much to everyone who has kept my channel alive and given me support. I’m honestly shocked KZbin hasn’t taken down my channel already for one reason or another, I’ve been expecting them to for years so thank you KZbin. If you're interested in some of the content that I have lost due to harddrive corruption and my own stupidity, stay tuned because I'm recreating a lot of my old work and I'm still alive. Happy New Year and goodnight!
Sauce?
(okay I'll list some great sauces and other resources that have helped me learn more about the various people groups of Central America and the rest of the world soon)

[@Euthenon]

It's been two years, Mason! We're happy to have you back, though!

[@skp8748]

😂 I yelped like a little girl

[@just_a_turtle_chad]

Finally some good KZbin content

[@asiblingproduction]

Felt much much longer, wow.

[@tysonclark5974]

Took the words out of my mouth

[@salvadorlopez-beltran6734]

I concur

[@johnlacey3857]

A lot of us were really worried about you and had feared the worst. So happy to see you back!

[@jetblockmoth5961]

Same! I recently rewatched old videos and thought the worst.

[@GAZAMAN93X]

​@@cuddles1767damn. Forgot he even existed lol

[@H-Vox]

You thought he was dead because he stopped posting videos? 😂

[@jetblockmoth5961]

@@H-Vox He has/had liver problems

[@SOULAANI_]

@@cuddles1767I miss him bro, that story is so good I hope he comes back to finish it

[@GrimJackal]

Losing years of work is a nightmare scenario. I'm glad you got that passion back - your attention to detail is second to none.

[@thedotgamer9592]

I was wondering why your ethnicity maps stopped coming out, that absolutely sucks dude, hope you can recover better than ever

[@kyanite7843]

You are literally the only person on youtube that talks about demographics, genes, and ethnic history to this level. In school (Canada) I wasn't even taught that humans came from Africa, not kidding. I was never taught human migration either. I never knew that so many languages derived from Egyptian Hieroglyphics. I had no idea about Proto-Indo European. I feel like everyone should know about these things and I want to thank you for enlightening me. I wish you good health.

[@vanlifeguy4816]

Out of Africa theory has been debunked

[@kyanite7843]

@@vanlifeguy4816 No its still safe to believe

[@Data-xh9wh]

​@@kyanite7843depends on who you ask.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

@@vanlifeguy4816 Quite the opposite, actually.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

I think you meant "alphabets" not "languages".

[@GT-ct6mv]

YOOOOOOO MASAMAN YESSSSS YOU'RE BACK AND WORKING ON CENTRAL AMERICA. AS A SALVADORAN THIS BRINGS ME GREAT JOY , PLEASE CONTINUE! NO ONE DOES IT LIKE YOU.

[@RiwenX]

I like your president

[@GenericUsername1388]

​@@RiwenX same

[@LuisSierra42]

@@RiwenX Bukele is a sigma

[@Eho-xj4jy]

En toda Latinoamérica queremos un Bukele

[@edenromanov]

Brother from another Mother, I'm right there with ya!

[@trollerjakthetrollinggod-e7761]

We all heard you died! Masaman: My death was greatly exaggerated.

[@johnmanole4779]

He was only mostly dead 😂

[@SabbaticalTommy]

That definitely sucks what happened. But I think everyone is just happy to know you’re alive bro

[@danielnaberhaus5337]

Tommy it would be sweet if you explored the olmec and mayan ruins. Some mexican lady told me there are rivers with ancient satues in Veracruz where she would see crazy visions, she said there was ancient magic there.

[@danielnaberhaus5337]

Also lagunas de chacaua in mexico is so fucking cool, not sure if its off the beaten path enough for your taste but they are of largely african descent on a delta where a bioluminescent lagun meets the ocean. Its pure magico. Love your channel happy new year!

[@than217]

Holy shit. Some Christmas presents are better late than never. I can't believe it's a new Masaman video to top off the year!

[@purpleblastoise]

I'm Native American Lakota. My heart goes to the indigenous peoples of Central America! ❤️

[@Eztlicoatl]

Im Nicaraguan of Nahua ancestry, God bless you brother, the red man lives on 💪

[@monkofdarktimes]

Gracias Amigo -mam

[@user-cn8cz3qz6z]

Well, you both shared the fate of getting conquered by Europeans. At least they somewhat retained their population though, you North Amerindians are practically extinct.

👍👍🇸🇻🇸🇻

[@KingMacuilmiquiztli]

Greetings native brethren. -Nicarao tribe ✌🇳🇮

[@nothanks131]

What a wonderful map!!! I am a Guatemalan Anthropology student and I have been watching your videos for years. They’re actually what inspired me to be an anthropologist, and this is somewhat of a Christmas gift for me to see you make a map of Central America!!! One thing to note is that the term “ladino” is not uniform in its usage, ladinos from the east of Guatemala are way more Spanish than ladinos from the highlands. Just an interesting tidbit! Thank you for keeping the strength to keep going, I love your videos!!

[@crazycookfyrelomenot]

i thought i was trippin when i noticed this while visiting

[@kcirtapelyk6060]

I can’t imagine loosing years and years of hard work and research just like that. I’d be devastated too if all my own research on my genealogy were to disappear one day. It’s good to see you get back on track.

[@hitmusicworldwide]

Don't forget to back up! I'd say there is a resurgence of Indigenous identity, language, and culture throughout the Americas. You can see it emerging in realtime on KZbin

[@diponic3344]

Any videos on it u can recommend?

[@mrbyzantine0528]

I second this, make sure to have two or three backups of your work at all times!

[@anonosaurus4517]

It's easy to understand this when everything "White" is relentlessly demonized throughout the world. Everyone wants to be a part of a favored group and not a despised one.

[@Random_UserName4269]

Natives will never resurge in America and Canada. This is Britains land.

[@macintoshalexandcompany3903]

@@diponic3344Depends on what you're looking for. For example, a lot of indigenous languages material can be found on youtube now, including learning videos.

[@doubleutee2100]

Everyone's favorite genealogy champ is back! YES! More mapping with Masaman. Cool!

[@Jorge-kd7ww]

as a guatemalan that loves this channel, i cant express how happy seeing this video in my feed made me. not only are you back you made a video on my region of the world that is usually overlooked by everyone.

[@drivingbritt9617]

We Masamen and Masawomen gleefully welcome you back Mason!!! We've been missing you more than you can imagine. Great video as always. :) 👍👍👍

[@user-mt1qi4vd1z]

Long time no see! I thought you joined the bunch of abandoned channels and I am VERY glad to be wrong! Hope to see you more on KZbin, there appears no other channels like yours!

[@thestoik5440]

Thank god you are alive! Your channel is one of a kind and one of my absolute favourites!

[@Jeremy_936]

A future projection of the region would be fascinating! This could be based on current levels of assimilation, emigration, immigration, birth rates, intermarriage, etc. And PS... Welcome back!!

[@goyougoyou8245]

You can do this now w/ AI

[@GwainSagaFanChannel]

​@@goyougoyou8245 thats lame its more fun to do your own research

[@liquidityoforange440]

@@goyougoyou8245 Might as well ask Facebook or Reddit what the future of Central America will be like. You'll get an answer, but it's not likely to be right. Just a collection of all the randomness of the internet.

[@consumerisms]

It's been 84 years... Glad to have you back!

[@rageofraven]

Holy cow dude, I'm so glad to see you're still active; missed you and your videos a lot! I couldn't find any news about you anywhere and thought you had went away. We need an unbiased and objective voice like yours now, more than ever.

[@notdpanda9525]

Love your work. Hope you keep it up, don't think there is anybody else doing it quite like you.

[@lyalllupin8789]

It’s been a while. Looking forward to more content.

[@Grizzly_21]

LETS GOO HE IS BACK😭😭

[@anagonyaowusu3119]

I’m literally so happy your covering Central America as someone looking to immigrate to/study in Costa Rica! 😭

[@Gares.]

This is utterly insane. I feel nostalgic about the channel, come to check it out, and boom: new video uploaded a couple of hours ago. Awesome! 🤩

[@mambofever]

Glad to have you back my man. 2024 will be better for it.

[@charlesottowilliamwade5328]

It is great to see you back good sir. I'd honestly have had the same reaction if months or years of my work was suddenly just lost without warning. It is great to see you back as I said but I'm honestly just glad you're alive after so long.

[@floydgail8816]

Welcome back. Please do a map on the new science of ancient DNA

[@johnronald9767]

Sorry about your work dude, if it makes you feel a little better I lost a good section of my phd thesis because my computer fried itself. I learned the hard way that you need to backup your files every once in a while just in case. I hope you can recover, we are all cheering you on!

[@dann5480]

Holy shit he's back.

[@Chalkhead]

Just glad you're okay Mason! You had most of us worried with that failing kidney comment in your last video.

[@wolfkillerq9363]

Incredibly glad to see that you are back to making videos! I think some really interesting regions you could try to map out next that a lot of people tend to overlook or not think much about would be Central Asia and South East Asia.

[@SudoDama]

We thought you passed away! So glad you're back your work is amazing brother, and now even better. Glad to have you back!

[@lproth]

Yes, I am so glad you’re back!

[@23uncbball]

Your work is always amazing, glad to see you back.

[@sjoerddondersteen1337]

The Return of The ̶K̶i̶n̶g̶ Absolute Madman ps Best wishes in advance for a happy new year from the Netherlands!

[@sandino27]

As a Nicaraguan who has tried to do his own research on this subject, I sincerely want to thank you. My family are not keen to talk about this subject. And many have largely forgotten it This type of work helps people like me who obviously do not look Spanish, find some source of where my tribal/ancestral history may come from.

[@uniq000]

Lol my family is Nicaraguan too, lemme just say that any info on Nicaragua...requires going there. It's so hard to find on the internet and there are so many niche history books that only exist there (BTW I have some vids on Nicaragua, not exactly this subject)

[@sandino27]

@@uniq000 I have gone to visit family twice. The most I've gotten is that on my mother side they think we are Miskito, and that it's not disrespectful that other people refer to us as "negro". Any other details are kinda lost and I've never had enough time while in country to find someone knowledgeable. Definitely gonna check out your videos tho!

[@uniq000]

@@sandino27 nice, and thanks 🙏

[@gayfrogs9705]

THE KING HAS RETURNED

[@reeceedgington9276]

It's awesome too have you back dude

[@tojoisathomeinthisfunben9364]

New fan here. Binging all your Phoenician and Greek videos. Then you come back out of the blue! Subbed

[@danielesoriano497]

I rarely comment on KZbin but I'm glad that you're back bro. It sucks that all of your work has been corrupted. Although you pushed forward and continue to be one of the best map makers in this platform. You are truly one of the best educational channels and we've learned so much from your content. Keep your hopes very high and continue to strive on to your hobbies and dreams. Welcome back Masaman! We can't wait to see all of your interesting maps once again.

[@qwertyuiopgarth]

It is good to see your work again.

[@ShadowTiger88]

It's so great to have you back and see you're doing fine. I almost thought we'd never here from you again, so I'm very happy and excited for what you'll share with us in the future. Nice work.

[@natemarx4999]

This channel makes me happy when I see it on my notifications.

[@wenos0228]

Happy to hear you again

[@Z-Faction]

Welcome back bro. Sorry to hear about all your work getting corrupted like that😢. But thank you for doing this video on Central America. Second generation Nicaraguan-American🇳🇮 here🤙🏻

[@tusvanhoon]

glad you are back. your hard work is much appreciated.

[@awtizme]

Great to see you back! If I were to make a suggestion, it would be very helpful to identify where population centres are located so we can derive how ethnic compositions change in relation to them. (e.g. Do cities have a different ethnic make up to rural areas?) This could be as simple as adding some labelling for cities and towns, but could include overlaying a population map on top of the ethnicity map. This could be done any number of ways, perhaps using varying heights to represent population density in 3D.

[@erinknightingale251]

Happy to see you posting again 💕

[@Language_Guru]

I'm glad you've been able to return. Congratulations on the stunning new maps!

[@dovahduck]

Thank you for this Mason. My father is Salvadoran and my mother is Cuban. I really appreciate your work that’s been done here and it’s good having you back.

[@suselek990]

Im thrilled that you're back! Amazing channel!

[@joescemo1137]

Glad you're back! You are doing amazing work, Mason!

[@PindusWrath]

Amazing work! Glad you are back !

[@yoitsgiook]

So glad you’re back!

[@thattubechannel]

So happy you're back! By far the best source for collecting, compiling, and presenting demographic data on the internet.

[@yoohoo5590]

Seeing this video pop up made my day. Glad to see you back!

[@scruffyo4460]

Wonderful to see you back! Hope all is well! 🎉

[@1258-Eckhart]

Great to hear from you again! Your tenacity is mind-blowing (having lost all that data).

[@neophilosophy1764]

Nice to see you back!

[@rafakrzentowski9549]

Nice to see you again Guyanas are very interesting regions

[@CarlosJMunoz]

Glad you are back!!!🎉

[@MrOrrinb]

So glad u are backing up making videos 😊 proud of u dude just keep doing what you are doing, you have the refined technology just bring your own spark to it

[@Otterstone]

I'm so excited to see how the new reworks. This already is my favorite channel of these topics because of the massive amount of detail. I can't imagine how the level of detail your reworks will be. Awesome gift to get for the closing of 2023!

[@moocyfarus8549]

So happy to have you back!! I know myself and probably a lot of other viewers were very worried about you❤

[@SirComsicion]

This is Amazing! Thanks for compiling and sharing this with us

[@adrianvasquez4351]

Dude, your work is actually amazing! Colors and lines on a map are often just a way for us to simplify and organize things, but you really show how truly complex the world is. I can't wait to see whateve comes next, no matter how long it takes!

[@gxramirez]

As a Salvadoran I am sooooo glad you made this. Thank you Mason. So Sorry you lost work. 🙏🙏

[@gxramirez]

I believe the Lenca are also significant in number in El Salvador. I also find it curious why the density of population in El Salvador is so much higher than other parts of Central America..

[@rammontiliasmithson3956]

It's so good to have you back. I'm glad to see your videos again

[@G4BR13L_]

So glad you're alive Mason, your work is fantastic!

[@tmrx._]

Oh my god, I'm so happy you are back!!!

[@NoSlow78]

We love you Mason! Back your stuff up! Keep us informed about your health too! We care about you! Your maps were always awesome! We love your vids! I’m so happy your back!

[@usergiodmsilva1983PT]

I was rewatching some of your old work just a couple of days ago! You just made my day, welcome back Masaman!

[@tanewoodley9806]

Great to see you back, I look forward to watching more of your fascinating work :)

[@WolfLykaios]

I've never watched your channel, but I have to say I'm really, really impressed by how much work and effort you have put into this. You've earned a new subscriber. 🙂

[@aardeng]

Ive stayed subscribed! I bet you get more views than you expect. Glad to see you are back.

[@superninjaraidingman]

Many times i have come to your channel hoping to see new videos only to rewatch your older stuff. Glad you are back.

[@aaronb3600]

YESSS!!! It's so good to have you back. i'm looking forward to seeing your incredible work

[@kenolson6572]

I am thankful you are back and that it was a cyber problem and not a medical problem, even though I'm sure it felt like someone stuck a knife in you when everything crashed.

[@dinataleluca7062]

Damn, as an Argentinian who loves history I understand the great task you are going through right now, even if my country is one of the least diverse ones of Latin-America due to the low amount of slaves and natives, but it's really amazing to see you trying to understand and explore unexplored parts of what I consider my people, so thank you so much for this and keep doing this great work, you're doing amazing!

[@berno5920]

Argentina is much more diverse in European genetics, one of my favorite places is Misiones, it literally had immigrants from all continents in such a small province, the jungle province is just as diverse as the capital Buenos Aires itself

[@loislewis5229]

I once saw a “genetics” show where the Brazilian participant was shocked to find out he was 100% European. He thought he was mixed 😜

[@Avram_Orozco]

I thought a good number of Argentines are mestizo. By that logic northern Mexico and Central Mexico(to a lesser extent) are among the least diverse because people there are castizos and harnizos.

[@dinataleluca7062]

@@Avram_Orozco originally there were some, but Argentina always had less natives in comparisson to the rest of Hispano-America, and some of those were agressive towards the Spanish, later when we got independence their population reduced due to the supression policies and conquests, and later we had huge amounts of inmigration from Europe. The point is that I'm comparing with the rest of Hispano-American countries, I'm not denying that we have some

[@chrisbflory]

He’s back! This made my morning. I’ve been rewatching all your videos repeatedly. The best on the platform. Absolutely amazing.

[@hunterfiles7987]

All the love for you glad you're back.

[@fizzy14]

YOURE BACK!! Thought you died, not gonna lie. Spent hours searching for any information i was so concerned since you mentioned the health problems. Glad to see you back! Hope you and your family are keeping well over the festive period!!

[@Mateo-oq7ui]

Oh man its a (belated) Christmas miracle! Great to have you back Mason, I'll await with bated breath for the time you release a map like this but for the Southern Cone in the year 2043

[@MiThreeSunz]

Welcome back Mason! Great to hear your voice again. Sorry to hear about your data loss fiasco. Glad you’re well. Great work, as usual! 👊🇨🇦

[@rama_lama_ding_dong]

i like the fact that all of your videos are dense with words, near scientific. i dont hafta listen to 2 hours of monologue to get 20 minutes of information

[@Paranoid_Found]

Absolutely fabulous to have you back Mason!

[@OuroborosAlchemist]

Please never stop your work, no matter what happens, what you're doing is important. I, and so many other people, appreciate your work, the time that goes into it and, you yourself. Good luck into the future of this project!

[@oscarolmedo8973]

Hi Mason, In glad you're back. I totally understand you leaving after such a setback. I've had such a thing happen to me when youtube deleted my channel which had 7000 songs catagorized into playlists. Although something much worse happened to you, I know how devastating this type of thing is. However, a fresh start is always exciting and I thrilled to see more content. All the best!

[@Pablo-Herrero]

Nice to see you're back! If you don't mind, would you like to share what tools you used to compiled your data and about your worflow in general? Thanks a lot and great job!

[@jdenmark1287]

Glad you’re good and back.

[@lolitalamb]

So excited to have you back! Great video 😊

[@kuroazrem5376]

Yes! Yes! Masaman is back! Christmas but later.

[@lishnyak1925]

GENIUS!!!

[@dragonburrito72]

Glad to have you back

[@moto.roxtar]

Glad you're back, man!❤

[@Sma3oYaJame3a]

Great video! You’ve been missed Masaman!

[@berno5920]

Damn, Masaman you really have my respect, the work you do is impressive. I can't figure out how you manage to transfer so much data, so many numbers and letters to a map and make it look good. I remember making a historical immigration map of the Southern Cone that took me 2 months, and even then it doesn't even come close to what you do.

[@SixtiesStick]

Really glad to hear from you again.