Genome-wide ancestry of 17th-century enslaved Africans from the Caribbean

Hannes Schroeder; Maria del Carmen Avila Arcos; Anna Sapfo Malaspinas; G. David Poznik; Marcela Sandoval Velasco; Meredith L. Carpenter; José Victor Moreno Mayar; Martin Sikora; Philip L.F. Johnson; Morten Erik Allentoft; Jose Alfredo Samaniego Castruita; Jay B. Haviser; Michael W. Dee; Thomas W. Stafford; Antonio Salas; Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando; Eske Willerslev; Carlos D. Bustamente; M. Thomas P. Gilbert

doi:10.1073/pnas.1421784112

Genome-wide ancestry of 17th-century enslaved Africans from the Caribbean

Hannes Schroeder, Maria del Carmen Avila Arcos, Anna Sapfo Malaspinas, G. David Poznik, Marcela Sandoval Velasco, Meredith L. Carpenter, José Victor Moreno Mayar, Martin Sikora, Philip L.F. Johnson, Morten Erik Allentoft, Jose Alfredo Samaniego Castruita, Jay B. Haviser, Michael W. Dee, Thomas W. Stafford, Antonio Salas, Ludovic Antoine Alexandre Orlando, Eske Willerslev, Carlos D. Bustamente, M. Thomas P. Gilbert

62 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Between 1500 and 1850, more than 12 million enslaved Africans were transported to the New World. The vast majority were shipped from West and West-Central Africa, but their precise origins are largely unknown. We used genome-wide ancient DNA analyses to investigate the genetic origins of three enslaved Africans whose remains were recovered on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. We trace their origins to distinct subcontinental source populations within Africa, including Bantu-speaking groups from northern Cameroon and non-Bantu speakers living in present-day Nigeria and Ghana. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first direct evidence for the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans, at a time for which historical records are scarce, and demonstrate that genomic data provide another type of record that can shed new light on long-standing historical questions.

Original language	English
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS)
Volume	112
Issue number	12
Pages (from-to)	3669–3673
Number of pages	5
ISSN	0027-8424
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1421784112
Publication status	Published - 24 Mar 2015

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Schroeder, H., Avila Arcos, M. D. C., Malaspinas, A. S., Poznik, G. D., Sandoval Velasco, M., Carpenter, M. L., Moreno Mayar, J. V., Sikora, M., Johnson, P. L. F., Allentoft, M. E., Samaniego Castruita, J. A., Haviser, J. B., Dee, M. W., Stafford, T. W., Salas, A., Orlando, L. A. A., Willerslev, E., Bustamente, C. D., & Gilbert, M. T. P. (2015). Genome-wide ancestry of 17th-century enslaved Africans from the Caribbean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), 112(12), 3669–3673. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1421784112

Schroeder, H, Avila Arcos, MDC, Malaspinas, AS, Poznik, GD, Sandoval Velasco, M, Carpenter, ML, Moreno Mayar, JV , Sikora, M, Johnson, PLF, Allentoft, ME, Samaniego Castruita, JA, Haviser, JB, Dee, MW, Stafford, TW, Salas, A, Orlando, LAA, Willerslev, E, Bustamente, CD & Gilbert, MTP 2015, 'Genome-wide ancestry of 17th-century enslaved Africans from the Caribbean', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS), vol. 112, no. 12, pp. 3669–3673. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1421784112

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abstract = "Between 1500 and 1850, more than 12 million enslaved Africans were transported to the New World. The vast majority were shipped from West and West-Central Africa, but their precise origins are largely unknown. We used genome-wide ancient DNA analyses to investigate the genetic origins of three enslaved Africans whose remains were recovered on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. We trace their origins to distinct subcontinental source populations within Africa, including Bantu-speaking groups from northern Cameroon and non-Bantu speakers living in present-day Nigeria and Ghana. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first direct evidence for the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans, at a time for which historical records are scarce, and demonstrate that genomic data provide another type of record that can shed new light on long-standing historical questions.",

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AB - Between 1500 and 1850, more than 12 million enslaved Africans were transported to the New World. The vast majority were shipped from West and West-Central Africa, but their precise origins are largely unknown. We used genome-wide ancient DNA analyses to investigate the genetic origins of three enslaved Africans whose remains were recovered on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. We trace their origins to distinct subcontinental source populations within Africa, including Bantu-speaking groups from northern Cameroon and non-Bantu speakers living in present-day Nigeria and Ghana. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first direct evidence for the ethnic origins of enslaved Africans, at a time for which historical records are scarce, and demonstrate that genomic data provide another type of record that can shed new light on long-standing historical questions.

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Genome-wide ancestry of 17th-century enslaved Africans from the Caribbean

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