The early colonial atlantic world: New insights on the African Diaspora from isotopic and ancient <scp>DNA</scp> analyses of a multiethnic 15th–17th century burial population from the Canary Islands, Spain

Santana, J.J.; Fregel, Rosa; Lightfoot, Emma; Morales, Jacob; Alamón, Martha; Guillén, José Ignacio Royo; Moreno, Marco; Rodríguez, Amelia Rodríguez

doi:10.1002/ajpa.22879

Cited by 26 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…However, owing to both the natural, and anthropogenic, distributions of C 3 and C 4 plants worldwide and at smaller spatial resolutions, δ 13 C isotope analyses of various human and animal tissues (teeth, bones, hair, feathers) are increasingly applied to provenance and mobility research in various fields of research ranging from wildlife ecology to forensics (e.g., Ehleringer et al 2015;Font et al 2015;Hobson et al 2012;Veen et al 2014). Additionally, owing to the existence of geographic variation in ancient foodways, δ 13 C isotope analyses are also increasingly applied to paleomobility studies in archeology, alone or more commonly in conjunction with other isotope data (e.g., Cook and Price 2015;Santana et al 2016;Sayre et al 2015;Schroeder et al 2009). In this study, we use δ 13 C data as a complement to these other isotope proxies, and as indicators of inter-and intra-taxa variation in dietary niches.…”

Section: Isotope Provenance Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Laffoon

Sonnemann

Antczak

et al. 2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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Archeological excavations of Amerindian sites on Dos Mosquises Island, Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela, uncovered a wide range of evidence reflecting seasonal exploitation of local resources and multiple ritual depositions of large quantities of ceramic figurines, lithics, and faunal remains. Zooarchaeological analysis revealed the presence of modified and unmodified bones and teeth from numerous imported mammal species. Local geographic and environmental conditions preclude permanent establishment of terrestrial mammal populations and as such, there are no native mammalian taxa on the island itself or the surrounding oceanic archipelago. The presence of these faunal remains on Dos Mosquises can be attributed to the intentional movement of animal resources from the mainland to Los Roques by indigenous groups in the Late Ceramic Age (~AD 1200-1500). Despite attributions to a mainland source region, little else is known about the origins of these unique specimens. Here, we apply strontium (87 Sr/ 86 Sr), oxygen (δ 18 O), and carbon (δ 13 C) isotope analyses of tooth enamel from various archeologically recovered taxa including deer, peccary, tapir, ocelot, margay, opossum, fox, and weasel to investigate their geographic origins via comparisons with macro-regional models of precipitation δ 18 O and bioavailable 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr results are highly variable both for the overall assemblage and between specimens within the same taxa, indicating origins from different geochemical environments of mainland South America. The combined archeological and isotopic evidence are consistent with origins within the late pre-colonial Valencioid Sphere of Interaction which encompassed the Lake Valencia Basin, surrounding regions, and several offshore island groups including Los Roques archipelago.

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Section: Isotope Provenance Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Laffoon

Sonnemann

Antczak

et al. 2016

Archaeol Anthropol Sci

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“…In particular, ancient DNA (aDNA) methods have greatly expanded our ability to reconstruct the ancestry and migration history of past populations. Such methods have been used to evaluate the biohistories of individuals from North American colonial burial sites, providing crucial information about multiethnic cemetery organization (Byrnes et al, 2012; Lee, Anderson, Dale, & Merriwether, ) and the population affinity of African or African‐descended individuals transported to the Canary Islands (Maca‐Meyer et al, ; Santana et al, ) and the Caribbean (Schroeder et al, ) during the trans‐Atlantic slave trade. aDNA analysis has also confirmed the identities and relationships of colonial Chesapeake remains in conjunction with detailed historical archaeological evidence, including investigations of high status individuals found at Historic St. Mary's City, Maryland (Reich et al, ), an 18th century Maryland family tomb (Owsley, Bruwelheide, Barca, Reidy, & Fleskes, ), and an 18th century European domestic site in Delaware (McKeown et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient DNA and bioarchaeological perspectives on European and African diversity and relationships on the colonial Delaware frontier

Fleskes

Bruwelheide

West

et al. 2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: Ancient DNA (aDNA) and standard osteological analyses applied to 11 skeletons at a late 17th to early 18th century farmstead site in Delaware to investigate the biological and social factors of settlement and slavery in colonial America. Materials and methods: Osteological analysis and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing were conducted for all individuals and the resulting data contextualized with archaeological and documentary evidence. Results: Individuals of European and African descent were spatially separated in this colonial cemetery. The skeletal remains exhibited differences in osteological features and maternal genetic ancestry. A specific mtDNA haplotype appeared in a subset of the European-descended individuals suggesting they were maternally related. Individuals of African descent were not maternally related, and instead showed a diversity of haplotypes affiliated with present-day Western, Central, and Eastern regions of Africa. Discussion: Along with the bioarchaeological and documentary evidence, the aDNA findings contribute to our understanding of life on the colonial Delaware frontier. Evidence of maternal relatedness among European-descended individuals at the site demonstrates kin-based settlements in 17th century Delaware and provides preliminary identifications of individuals. The maternal genetic diversity of the individuals with African descent aligns with the routes of the trans-Atlantic slave trade but broadens our understanding of the ancestries of persons involved in it. Burial positioning, osteological pathology, and lack of maternal kinship among individuals of African descent provide tangible evidence for the emergence of racialized labor and society in Delaware during the late 17th century.

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“…Additionally, Santana et al. () integrate ancient DNA analyses, stable isotopes, and skeletal markers of physical activity to uncover the diversity in the ancestry of the inhabitants of the site of Finca Clavijo on the Canary Islands. This study reveals the durability and persistence of multicultural non‐Christian religious practice into the seventeenth century at this Spanish‐ruled site of African enslavement.…”

Section: Toward An Anthropologically Minded Geneticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reimaging Process in 2016: Deliberations on a Year of Integrative Slow Science in Biological Anthropology

Nelson

2017

American Anthropologist

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The year 2016 in biological anthropology represented a return to the methodical study of classic questions and increased integrative team-based research that utilizes multiple methodological approaches. This review is not comprehensive, but rather highlights several papers that reflect trends in four areas of research within biological anthropology: paleoanthropology, primatology, human biology, and anthropological genetics. Methodological innovation enabled scholars in paleoanthropology to tackle questions once hampered by small sample size. Primatologists approached studies of behavior and reproduction with the rigor characteristic of the subdiscipline, while paying increasing attention to anthropogenic influences on primate habitats. Like their colleagues in paleoanthropology, human biologists also returned to enduring questions regarding reproduction, human adaptation, and behavior, including, notably, a focus on variability in cultural practice and meaning, as well as resource inequity. The publications representing anthropological genetics signify a movement toward an incorporation of multiple lines of evidence in our understanding of human and nonhuman primate ancestry. In total, these papers reveal shifts in biological anthropology toward research that is increasingly aware of the limits of siloed science and attuned to addressing issues salient to the populations and communities in which we work. [comparative morphology, Anthropocene, anthropological genetics, human biology] RESUMEN El año 2016 en la antropología biológica representó un retorno al estudio metódico de cuestiones clásicas, y a la creciente investigación integradora basada en equipos que utiliza múltiples aproximaciones metodológicas. Esta revisión no es exhaustiva, sino que más bien destaca varios artículos que reflejan tendencias en cuatroáreas de investigación dentro de la antropología biológica: paleoantropología, primatología, biología humana, y genética antropológica. La innovación metodológica le permitió a los investigadores en paleoantropología abordar cuestiones antes obstaculizadas por pequeños tamaños de muestra. Los primatólogos se aproximaron a los estudios de comportamiento y reproducción con el rigor característico de la subdisciplina, a la vez que prestando una creciente atención a las influencias antropogénicas sobre los hábitats de los primates. Como sus colegas en paleoantropología, los biólogos humanos también retornaron a cuestiones recurrentes con relación a la reproducción, adaptación humana, y comportamiento, incluyendo, notablemente, un enfoque en la variabilidad en las prácticas y significados culturales, así como en la inequidad de los recursos. Las publicaciones representando la genética antropológica, indican un movimiento hacia la incorporación de múltiples líneas de evidencia en nuestro entendimiento de la ascendencia de primates humanos y no humanos. En total, estos artículos revelan cambios en la antropología biológica hacia la investigación que está cada vez más consciente de los límites de una ciencia

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The early colonial atlantic world: New insights on the African Diaspora from isotopic and ancient DNA analyses of a multiethnic 15th–17th century burial population from the Canary Islands, Spain

Cited by 26 publications

References 76 publications

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Sourcing nonnative mammal remains from Dos Mosquises Island, Venezuela: new multiple isotope evidence

Ancient DNA and bioarchaeological perspectives on European and African diversity and relationships on the colonial Delaware frontier

Reimaging Process in 2016: Deliberations on a Year of Integrative Slow Science in Biological Anthropology

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