Entwined African and Asian genetic roots of medieval peoples of the Swahili coast

Esther S. Brielle (), Jeffrey Fleisher (), Stephanie Wynne-Jones (), Kendra Sirak, Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht, Kim Callan, Elizabeth Curtis, Lora Iliev, Ann Marie Lawson, Jonas Oppenheimer, Lijun Qiu, Kristin Stewardson, J. Noah Workman, Fatma Zalzala, George Ayodo, Agness O. Gidna, Angela Kabiru, Amandus Kwekason, Audax Z. P. Mabulla, Fredrick K. Manthi, Emmanuel Ndiema, Christine Ogola, Elizabeth Sawchuk, Lihadh Al-Gazali, Bassam R. Ali, Salma Ben-Salem, Thierry Letellier, Denis Pierron, Chantal Radimilahy, Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa, Ryan L. Raaum, Brendan J. Culleton, Swapan Mallick, Nadin Rohland, Nick Patterson, Mohammed Ali Mwenje, Khalfan Bini Ahmed, Mohamed Mchulla Mohamed, Sloan R. Williams, Janet Monge, Sibel Kusimba, Mary E. Prendergast, David Reich () and Chapurukha M. Kusimba ()
Additional contact information
Esther S. Brielle: Harvard University
Jeffrey Fleisher: Rice University
Stephanie Wynne-Jones: University of York
Kendra Sirak: Harvard University
Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht: Harvard University
Kim Callan: Harvard University
Elizabeth Curtis: Harvard University
Lora Iliev: Harvard University
Ann Marie Lawson: Harvard University
Jonas Oppenheimer: Harvard University
Lijun Qiu: Harvard Medical School
Kristin Stewardson: Harvard University
J. Noah Workman: Harvard University
Fatma Zalzala: Harvard University
George Ayodo: Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology
Agness O. Gidna: National Museums of Tanzania
Angela Kabiru: National Museums of Kenya
Amandus Kwekason: National Museums of Tanzania
Audax Z. P. Mabulla: University of Dar es Salaam
Fredrick K. Manthi: National Museums of Kenya
Emmanuel Ndiema: National Museums of Kenya
Christine Ogola: National Museums of Kenya
Elizabeth Sawchuk: Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Lihadh Al-Gazali: United Arab Emirates University
Bassam R. Ali: United Arab Emirates University
Salma Ben-Salem: United Arab Emirates University
Thierry Letellier: Université Toulouse III—Paul Sabatier
Denis Pierron: Université Toulouse III—Paul Sabatier
Chantal Radimilahy: Institut de Civilisations/Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie, Université d’Antananarivo
Jean-Aimé Rakotoarisoa: Institut de Civilisations/Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie, Université d’Antananarivo
Ryan L. Raaum: The City University of New York
Brendan J. Culleton: The Pennsylvania State University
Swapan Mallick: Harvard Medical School
Nadin Rohland: Harvard Medical School
Nick Patterson: Harvard University
Mohammed Ali Mwenje: National Museums of Kenya, Lamu Museums
Khalfan Bini Ahmed: Coastal Archaeology, Gede National Monument
Mohamed Mchulla Mohamed: Coastal Archaeology, Fort Jesus Museum
Sloan R. Williams: University of Illinois at Chicago
Janet Monge: University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
Sibel Kusimba: University of South Florida
Mary E. Prendergast: Rice University
David Reich: Harvard University
Chapurukha M. Kusimba: National Museums of Kenya

Nature, 2023, vol. 615, issue 7954, 866-873

Abstract: Abstract The urban peoples of the Swahili coast traded across eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean and were among the first practitioners of Islam among sub-Saharan people1,2. The extent to which these early interactions between Africans and non-Africans were accompanied by genetic exchange remains unknown. Here we report ancient DNA data for 80 individuals from 6 medieval and early modern (ad 1250–1800) coastal towns and an inland town after ad 1650. More than half of the DNA of many of the individuals from coastal towns originates from primarily female ancestors from Africa, with a large proportion—and occasionally more than half—of the DNA coming from Asian ancestors. The Asian ancestry includes components associated with Persia and India, with 80–90% of the Asian DNA originating from Persian men. Peoples of African and Asian origins began to mix by about ad 1000, coinciding with the large-scale adoption of Islam. Before about ad 1500, the Southwest Asian ancestry was mainly Persian-related, consistent with the narrative of the Kilwa Chronicle, the oldest history told by people of the Swahili coast3. After this time, the sources of DNA became increasingly Arabian, consistent with evidence of growing interactions with southern Arabia4. Subsequent interactions with Asian and African people further changed the ancestry of present-day people of the Swahili coast in relation to the medieval individuals whose DNA we sequenced.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05754-w

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