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.

Dental modification was widely practiced in sub-Saharan Africa as a form of cultural expression, and during the era of the transatlantic slave trade, it was regularly identified in enslaved Africans who were transported to the Americas. Here, we report three new cases of African types of dental modification from the Caribbean island of Saint Martin that were recently encountered during construction activities in the Zoutsteeg area of Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch half of the island. The artifacts associated with the burials indicate that they date to the late 17 th century, prior to the foundation of the town of Philipsburg in 1735. The dental evidence further suggests that the three individuals were born in Africa, as opposed to the Americas. This could be confirmed by tooth enamel strontium isotope measurements which yielded values that are inconsistent with an origin in the Caribbean but consistent with an origin in Africa. Unfortunately, neither the dental patterns nor the strontium isotope values allow us to determine their specific origins in Africa. However, both the methods used to modify the teeth and the isotope ratios suggest that the 'Zoutsteeg Three' originated in different parts of Africa.

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There is still much to be learned about enslavement in Curaçao, where little archaeological investigation into the historical era has been carried out. This article contributes to our knowledge on this subject through the analysis of a female individual buried in Pietermaai, an 18th century suburb of Willemstad. Excavated in the 1980s by the Archaeological-Anthropological Institute of the Netherlands Antilles, the remains are only now attracting osteological attention. Isotopic analysis has shown that this individual spent her childhood in West Africa, supporting morphological and metric analyses identifying her African ancestry. At the time of death, she had an adult chronological age (over 18 years), but her physical development indicated a non-adult biological age (possibly between 12 and 15 years). Such delayed development can occur due to many factors, including hard labour and disease. In the case of this individual, evidence such as enamel hypoplasia, osteochondritis dissecans, and periostitis may indicate stressful episodes throughout the life course. Clearly defined entheses and entheseal changes at muscle attachment sites on the arms and legs may indicate a physically demanding occupation. A variety of factors could therefore have contributed to her developmental delay. In the future, further analysis of buried populations in Curaçao will help to increase our understanding of the lifeways of enslaved people here. Meanwhile, the analysis of this isolated individual is important because it situates enslavement in a real body and indicates the value of reanalysis of human remains from existing archaeological collections in the Caribbean.