Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 112, Issue 12, Pages 3669-3673Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1421784112
Keywords
ancient DNA; genomics; slave trade
Categories
Funding
- Danish National Research Foundation [DNRF94]
- Marie Curie Fellowships from the Directorate General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission [FP7/2007-2013/236435, 317184]
- European Research Council [FP7/2007-2013/269442, 319209]
- National Science Foundation [DMS-1201234, DGE-1147470]
- Swiss National Science Foundation Fellowship [PBSKP3-143529]
- National Institute of Health [NRSA 5F32HG007342, K99 GM104158]
- Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship [ECF-2012-123]
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion [SAF2011-26983]
- Plan Galego IDT [EM 2012/045]
- Sistema Universitario Gallego-Modalidad REDES from the Xunta de Galicia [2012-PG226]
- Lundbeck Foundation [R52-A5062]
- Danish Council for Independent Research [10-081390]
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien
- Division Of Mathematical Sciences [1201234] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
- Villum Fonden [00010120] Funding Source: researchfish
- Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) [PBSKP3_143529] Funding Source: Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF)
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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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