First ancient DNA from the Swahili culture discovered by researchers
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The Swahili Civilization, which flourished in trading empires along the coast of East Africa beginning in the 7th century, has been studied for the first time through ancient DNA, according to an anthropologist from the University of South Florida.
Chapurukha Kusimba, an anthropology professor at USF, spent 40 years researching the ancestry of the people who created the civilizations, traveling from Kenya to Mozambique, as stated by the release.
The novel study published today in Nature examines the DNA of 80 individuals from as long as 800 years ago – making it the first ancient DNA uncovered from the Swahili Civilization.
“This research has been my life’s work – this journey to recover the past of the Swahili and restore them to rightful citizenship,” Kusimba said. “These findings bring out the African contributions, and indeed, the Africanness of the Swahili, without marginalizing the Persian and Indian connection.”
Kusimba identified the lineage of the people tested as both African and Asian while working with Harvard geneticists David Reich and Esther Brielle, as well as corresponding authors Jeff Fleisher from Rice University and Stephanie Wynne-Jones from the University of York.
The results of the DNA analysis showed a pattern: the vast majority of the male line's ancestors originated in Asia, whereas the female line's ancestors originated in Africa.
They spoke an African language, not an Asian one
Despite intermarrying, their descendants spoke an African language rather than an Asian one. As a result, researchers concluded that African women significantly impacted the formation of culture, so much they were the primary holders of economic and social power.
The findings refute long-standing theories by other African locals that wealthy Swahilis claimed to have ancestry in Asia to downplay their African origin and gain greater social position and cultural affinity.
The study’s results prove that Asian and African ancestors began intermarrying at least 1,000 years ago, long after Africans had established villages.
“Our results do not provide simple validation for the narratives previously advanced in archaeological, historical, or political circles,” Kusimba said. “Instead, they contradict and complicate those narratives.”
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