Islam, archaeology and slavery in Africa

Alexander, Jane

doi:10.1080/00438240120047627

Cited by 96 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…It has been estimated that the G-13915 variant originated 4,095 (52,045) years ago in the Arabian Peninsula, possibly as a result of the domestication of the Arabian camel~6,000 years ago, 19 and it might have been introduced into eastern Africa within the last 1,400 years as a result of the Arab expansion that accompanied the spread of Islam. 15,78 Our observation of the G-13915 polymorphism in the Beja from northern Sudan and the Arabic Baggara from Cameroon, both pastoralist populations with some Arab ancestry, is in agreement with the suggested geographic origin of the G-13915 allele in the Arabian Peninsula and the inferred age of this variant. 17,19,29,77,79,80 Although most haplotypes containing the G-13915 variant were present predominantly in the northern Kenyan populations, we found that several of these haplotypes were shared with other populations from Sudan and the Arabian Peninsula, consistent with a scenario of gene flow between populations from these geographic regions ( Figures 4B and 4C).…”

Section: Origins Of the T-13910 Variant In Northern And Central Africsupporting

confidence: 86%

Genetic Origins of Lactase Persistence and the Spread of Pastoralism in Africa

Ranciaro

Campbell

Hirbo

et al. 2014

The American Journal of Human Genetics

186

171

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In humans, the ability to digest lactose, the sugar in milk, declines after weaning because of decreasing levels of the enzyme lactase-phlorizin hydrolase, encoded by LCT. However, some individuals maintain high enzyme amounts and are able to digest lactose into adulthood (i.e., they have the lactase-persistence [LP] trait). It is thought that selection has played a major role in maintaining this genetically determined phenotypic trait in different human populations that practice pastoralism. To identify variants associated with the LP trait and to study its evolutionary history in Africa, we sequenced MCM6 introns 9 and 13 and ~2 kb of the LCT promoter region in 819 individuals from 63 African populations and in 154 non-Africans from nine populations. We also genotyped four microsatellites in an ~198 kb region in a subset of 252 individuals to reconstruct the origin and spread of LP-associated variants in Africa. Additionally, we examined the association between LP and genetic variability at candidate regulatory regions in 513 individuals from eastern Africa. Our analyses confirmed the association between the LP trait and three common variants in intron 13 (C-14010, G-13907, and G-13915). Furthermore, we identified two additional LP-associated SNPs in intron 13 and the promoter region (G-12962 and T-956, respectively). Using neutrality tests based on the allele frequency spectrum and long-range linkage disequilibrium, we detected strong signatures of recent positive selection in eastern African populations and the Fulani from central Africa. In addition, haplotype analysis supported an eastern African origin of the C-14010 LP-associated mutation in southern Africa.

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Section: Origins Of the T-13910 Variant In Northern And Central Africsupporting

confidence: 86%

Genetic Origins of Lactase Persistence and the Spread of Pastoralism in Africa

Ranciaro

Campbell

Hirbo

et al. 2014

The American Journal of Human Genetics

186

171

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“…The pre-1500 long-distance transportation of people, goods, plants and animals, and technology has been the subject of intense research (Alexander 2001;Fuller et al 2011;Horton 2004). However, given its regional importance for late historic labour diaspora, it is surprising that the Indian Ocean has received relatively little attention when compared to the Atlantic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing Complex Social Contact: Mauritius, a Microcosm of Global Diaspora

Seetah¹

2016

CAJ

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This article supplements current dialogue on the archaeology of slavery, offering an Indian Ocean counterpoint to a topic that has largely focused on the Atlantic world. It also delves into the essentially uncharted domain of the archaeology of indentured labour. New plural societies, characterized by cultural hybridity, were created around the world as a consequence of labour diasporas in the late historic period. What do these societies look like during the process of nation building and after independence? Can we study this development through archaeology? Focusing on Mauritius, this paper discusses the complexities of the island, and how it can be representative of similar newly formed plural societies in the Indian Ocean. During French and British imperial rule, the island served as an important trading post for a range of European imperial powers. These varied groups initiated the movement and settlement of African, Indian and Chinese transplanted communities. By exploring the dynamic nature of inter-group interaction on Mauritius, this paper emphasizes the nuanced nature of how different peoples arrived and made the island their home. Mauritius played a vital role in the transportation of forced and free labour, both within and beyond this oceanic world, and offers an important viewpoint from which to survey the ways in which historical archaeology can improve our understanding of the broader archaeo-historical processes of which these diasporas were an integral feature. The paper focuses on the outcomes of settlement, as viewed through the complex practices that underpin local food culture, the use and development of language and the way materials are employed for the expression of identity. The article also traces the roots of contemporary cultural retention for indentured labourers to administrative decisions made by the British, and ultimately explores how heritage and language can provide a powerful lens on mechanisms of cultural expression. In addition to illustrating the nuanced and multifaceted nature of group interaction on Mauritius itself, this article raises an issue of broader relevance—the need for historical archaeologists to give greater consideration to the Indian Ocean, rather than focusing on the Atlantic world. This would allow us to achieve a more informed understanding of European slave trading and associated systems of labour migration within a more global framework.

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“…In the Taita district of Kenya, Kusimba and Kusimba (2005) suggest that people relocated from the lowland plains to defensive rock shelters to protect themselves from slave raiding. There is little to indicate slave trading had a similar impact in Amboseli, though recognizing slavery in archeological contexts is challenging (Alexander, 2001;Lane, 2011b). Historical sources do indicate that early nineteenth century Maa-speaking pastoralists who are ancestrally linked to the current inhabitants of Amboseli were involved in the slave trade however (Krapf, 1854).…”

Section: Emergence Of Farming Communities (C 2 Ka Bp)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen, People and Place: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Ecosystem Change at Amboseli, Kenya

et al. 2018

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This study presents a multidisciplinary perspective for understanding environmental change and emerging socio-ecological interactions across the Amboseli region of southwestern Kenya. We focus on late Holocene (<5,000 cal yr. BP) changes and continuities reconstructed from sedimentary, archeological, historical records and socio-ecological models. We utilize multi-disciplinary approaches to understand environmental-ecosystem-social interactions over the longue durée and use this to simulate different land use scenarios supporting conservation and sustainable livelihoods using a socio-ecological model. Today the semi-arid Amboseli landscape supports a large livestock and wildlife population, sustained by a wide variety of plants and extensive rangelands regulated by seasonal rainfall and human activity. Our data provide insight into how large-scale and long-term interactions of climate, people, livestock, wildlife and external connections have shaped the ecosystems across the Amboseli landscape. Environmental conditions were dry between ∼5,000 and 2,000 cal yr. BP, followed by two wet periods at ∼2,100-1,500 and 1,400-800 cal yr. BP with short dry periods; the most recent centuries were characterized by variable climate with alternative dry and wet phases with high spatial heterogeneity. Most evident in paleo and historical records is the changing woody to grass cover ratio, driven by changes in climate and fire regimes entwined with fluctuating elephant, cattle and wild ungulate populations moderated by human activity, including elephant ivory trade intensification. Archeological perspectives on the occupation of different groups (hunter-gatherers, pastoralists, and farmers) in Amboseli region and the relationships between them are discussed. An overview of the known history of humans and elephants, expanding networks of trade, and the arrival and integration of metallurgy, livestock and domesticated crops in the wider region is provided. In recent decades, increased runoff and flooding have resulted in the expansion of wetlands and a reduction of woody vegetation, compounding problems created by increased enclosure and privatization of these landscapes. However, most Githumbi et al.Long-Term Multidisciplinary Perspectives at Amboseli, Kenya of the wetlands outside of the protected area are drying up because of the intensified water extraction by the communities surrounding the National Park and on the adjacent mountains areas, who have increased in numbers, become sedentary and diversified land use around the wetlands.

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Islam, archaeology and slavery in Africa

Cited by 96 publications

References 10 publications

Genetic Origins of Lactase Persistence and the Spread of Pastoralism in Africa

Genetic Origins of Lactase Persistence and the Spread of Pastoralism in Africa

Contextualizing Complex Social Contact: Mauritius, a Microcosm of Global Diaspora

Pollen, People and Place: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Ecosystem Change at Amboseli, Kenya

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