The Melungeons have also been "used" by various alternative writers to attempt to prove preColumbian contact. This paragraph in the article is quite correct:

According to information obtained from Collins, the research committee has discovered that Melungeons most likely descend from 16th century settlers, Portuguese and Spanish, who were abandoned or cutoff when the English overran the Santa Elena Colony, presently known as Beaufort, S.C., in 1587.


Kat

Ma'at Moderator

Founder and Director of The Hall of Ma'at

Contributing author to Archaeological Fantasies:
How pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and misleads the public
"If you panic, you're lost" -- W. T. 'Watertight' Southard