African Slaves (african + slave)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Genetic characterization of uniparental lineages in populations from Southwest Iberia with past malaria endemicity

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Vânia Pereira
Malaria endemicity in Southwest Iberia afforded conditions for an increase of sickle cell disease (SCD), which in the region follows a clinal pattern toward the south, where foci of high prevalence were found. SCD distribution is associated with specific geographical areas, and therefore, its introduction into Iberia may be related to the migration of different populations. We have analyzed the variation of uniparental markers in Portuguese populations with high frequency of SCD,Coruche, Pias, and Alcacer do Sal,to evaluate if their present-day pattern of neutral diversity could provide evidence about people inhabiting the area over different time periods. Two hundred and eighty-five individuals were sampled in Coruche, Pias, and Alcacer do Sal. All were analyzed for the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA); males were additionally examined for Y-chromosome markers. Results were then compared with data from other Portuguese and non-Portuguese populations. In Coruche, the genetic profile was similar to the profile usually found in Portugal. In Alcacer do Sal, the frequency of sub-Saharan mtDNA L lineages was the highest ever reported (22%) in Europe. In Pias, mtDNA diversity revealed higher frequencies of Mediterranean haplogroups I, J, and T than usually found in surrounding populations. The presence of Sub-Saharan maternal lineages in Alcacer do Sal is likely associated with the influx of African slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries, whereas in Pias, the Mediterranean influence might be traced to ancient contacts with Greeks, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians, who established important trading networks in southern Iberia. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 22:588,595, 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Population structure and paternal admixture landscape on present-day Mexican-Mestizos revealed by Y-STR haplotypes

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
J. Salazar-Flores
Mestizos currently represent most of the Mexican population (>90%); they are defined as individuals born in the country having a Spanish-derived last name, with family antecedents of Mexican ancestors back at least to the third generation. Mestizos are result of 500 years of admixture mainly among Spaniards, Amerindians, and African slaves. Consequently, a complex genetic pattern has been generated throughout the country that has been scarcely studied from the paternal point of view. This fact is important, taking into account that gene flow toward the New World comprised largely males. We analyzed the population structure and paternal admixture of present-day Mexican-Mestizo populations based on Y-STRs. We genotyped at least 12 Y-STRs in DNA samples of 986 males from five states: Aguascalientes (n = 293); Jalisco (n = 185); Guanajuato (n = 168); Chiapas (n = 170); and Yucatán (n = 170). AmpF,STR Y-filer and Powerplex-Y® kits were used. Inclusion of North and Central Y-STR databases in the analyses allowed obtaining a Y-STR variability landscape from Mexico. Results confirmed the population differentiation gradient previously noted in Mestizos with SNPs and autosomal STRs throughout the Mexican territory: European ancestry increments to the Northwest and, correspondingly, Amerindian ancestry increments to the Center and Southeast. In addition, SAMOVA test and Autocorrelation Index for DNA Analysis autocorrelogram plot suggested preferential gene flow of males with neighboring populations in agreement with the isolation-by-distance model. Results are important for disease-risk studies (principally male-related) and for human identification purposes, because Y-STR databases are not available on the majority of Mexican-Mestizo populations. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Beta-globin gene cluster haplotypes in Afro-Uruguayans from two geographical regions (South and North)

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
Julio Da Luz
The ,-globin gene cluster haplotypes were identified in 52 and 40 chromosomes from two Afro-Uruguayan populations located in the South and North of the country, respectively. In both regions, the 5, haplotype 2 (+ , , , ,), characteristic of non-African populations, was the most frequent, reflecting a strong process of admixture in Afro-Uruguayans (0.355 and 0.262, respectively). The haplotypes 3 (, , , , +) and 4 (, + , , +), characteristics of African sub-Saharan populations, present inverse frequencies in North and South: whereas in the South haplotype 3 is the second most frequent (0.232), and haplotype 4 presents a low frequency (0.019), in the North haplotype 4 is the third most frequent (0.140), and haplotype 3 only reaches an intermediate frequency (0.088). The pairwise FST and the exact test of differentiation show genetic heterogeneity between both regions. Nei's genetic distance show that South and North present affinities with Bantu groups, although the North present the smallest genetic distance with the Mandenka, a Senegalese population. With respect to 3, haplotypes, haplotype I was the most frequent in both populations, followed by haplotype II, characteristic of sub-Saharan Africans. The high frequencies of haplotype III-Asian could indicate admixture with Native American populations. The differences observed between both Uruguayan regions could be explained by microevolutionary events as genetic drift, founder effects, differential admixture, and/or distinct origin of the African slaves introduced in those regions. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Trans-Atlantic slavery: Isotopic evidence for forced migration to Barbados

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Hannes Schroeder
Abstract The question of the ultimate origin of African slaves is one of the most perplexing in the history of trans-Atlantic slavery. Here we present the results of a small, preliminary isotopic study that was conducted in order to determine the geographical origin of 25 enslaved Africans who were buried at the Newton plantation, Barbados, sometime between the late 17th and early 19th century. In order to gain a more nuanced understanding of the slaves' origin, we used a combination of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and strontium isotope analyses. Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were determined in bone and dentinal collagen; oxygen and strontium isotopes were measured in tooth enamel. Results suggest that the majority of individuals were born on the island, if not the estate itself. Seven individuals, however, yielded enamel oxygen and strontium ratios that are inconsistent with a Barbadian origin, which strongly suggests that we are dealing with first-generation captives who were brought to the island with the slave trade. This idea is also supported by the fact that their carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values differ markedly between their teeth and bones. These intra-skeletal shifts reflect major dietary changes that probably coincided with their enslavement and forced migration to Barbados. While it is impossible to determine their exact origins, the results clearly demonstrate that the slaves did not all grow up in the same part of Africa. Instead, the data seem to suggest that they originated from at least three different areas, possibly including the Gold Coast and the Senegambia. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


The Y-chromosomal Heritage of the Azores Islands Population

ANNALS OF HUMAN GENETICS, Issue 2 2005
P. R. Pacheco
Summary The Azores, a Portuguese archipelago located in the north Atlantic Ocean, had no native population when the Portuguese first arrived in the 15th century. The islands were populated mainly by the Portuguese, but Jews, Moorish prisoners, African slaves, Flemish, French and Spaniards also contributed to the initial settlement. To understand the paternal origins and diversity of the extant Azorean population, we typed genomic DNA samples from 172 individuals using a combination of 10 Y-biallelic markers (YAP, SRY-1532, SRY-2627, 92R7, M9, sY81, Tat, SRY-8299, 12f2 and LLY22g) and the following Y-chromosomal STR systems: DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393 and DYS385. We identified nine different haplogroups, most of which are frequent in Europe. Haplogroup J* is the second most frequent in the Azores (13.4%), but it is modestly represented in mainland Portugal (6.8%). The other non-European haplogroups, N3 and E3a, which are prevalent in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, respectively, have been found in the Azores (0.6% and 1.2%, respectively) but not in mainland Portugal. Microsatellite data indicate that the mean gene diversity (D) value for all the loci analysed in our sample set is 0.590, while haplotype diversity is 0.9994. Taken together, our analysis suggests that the current paternal pool of the Azorean population is, to a great extent, of Portuguese descent with significant contributions from people with other genetic backgrounds. [source]


LIGHT, DARKNESS, AND AFRICAN SALVATION: VELÁZQUEZ'S SUPPER AT EMMAUS

ART HISTORY, Issue 1 2008
TANYA J. TIFFANY
This study locates Velázquez's Supper at Emmaus (c. 1617/18) within early seventeenth-century debates on the Christian conversion of Seville's African slaves. Through a careful analysis of writings by Sevillian clerics, the essay argues that Velázquez gave pictorial form to discourse on African spiritual ,illumination' and developing theories of skin colour. Treatises by Seville's ecclesiastics also provide crucial insight into the original, elite audience for whom Velázquez surely constructed his African subject. In Supper at Emmaus, Velázquez presented his male beholder with one possession encompassed within another: a female slave in a painting by Seville's most promising young artist. [source]