Palenque de San Basilio in Colombia: genetic data support an oral history of a paternal ancestry in Congo

Abstract

The Palenque, a black community in rural Colombia, have an oral history of fugitive African slaves founding a free village near Cartagena in the seventeenth century. Recently, linguists have identified some 200 words in regular use that originate in a Kikongo language, with Yombe, mainly spoken in the Congo region, being the most likely source. The non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA were analysed to establish whether there was greater similarity between present-day members of the Palenque and Yombe than between the Palenque and 42 other African groups (for all individuals, n ¼ 2799) from which forced slaves might have been taken. NRY data are consistent with the linguistic evidence that Yombe is the most likely group from which the original male settlers of Palenque came. Mitochondrial DNA data suggested substantial maternal sub-Saharan African ancestry and a strong founder effect but did not associate Palenque with any particular African group. In addition, based on cultural data including inhabitants' claims of linguistic differences, it has been hypothesized that the two districts of the village (Abajo and Arriba) have different origins, with Arriba founded by men originating in Congo and Abajo by those born in Colombia. Although significant genetic structuring distinguished the two from each other, no supporting evidence for this hypothesis was found.

Searching for the roots of the first free African American community

“…In the present study, we analysed numerous Y chromosome-specific markers and extended the mtDNA analysis to the whole CR, enabling a clear assignment of the continental origin of the lineages in Palenque. www.nature.com/scientificreports/ A high African maternal ancestry was found, in accordance with the report by Ansari-Pour et al 12 . Nevertheless, it was not possible to perform a straightforward comparison between the two studies, since previous data included only HVSI information, and many samples could not be assigned to a specific haplogroup, namely, inside some African and Native American branches.…”

The Genetic Diversity of the Americas

“…Finally, several communities tracing their ancestry to marooned slaves have been prime objects of study in multidisciplinary analyses examining the origin in Africa of the slaves who were transported to America (68,84,96). Genetic studies have shown that, although many of these populations have mainly African ancestry (8,68), some have substantial non-African admixture, indicating that contrary to what was previously thought, maroon settlements were not always that isolated (84).…”

Contrasting the ancestry patterns of three distinct population groups from the northernmost region of South America

“…To evaluate the genetic composition and stratification of the Colombian population, several studies have been performed using different types of ancestry and forensic markers in different populations throughout the country (Alonso Morales et al, 2018; Alonso & Usaquén, 2012; Ansari‐Pour et al, 2016; Bedoya et al, 2006; Bortolini, Salzano, & Thomas, 2003; Carvajal‐Carmona et al, 2000; Garavito et al, 2015; Ibarra et al, 2014; Martínez et al, 2017; Mesa et al, 2000; Noguera et al, 2014; Ossa et al, 2015, 2016; Rodas, Gelvez, & Keyeux, 2013; Rojas et al, 2010; Rojas, Roa, Briceño, Guaneme, & Gómez, 2011; Urbano, Portilla, Builes, Gusmão, & Sierra‐Torres, 2016; Xavier et al, 2015; Yunis, Acevedo, Campo, & Yunis, 2013). These studies showed that urban populations have high levels of non‐native admixture, and Native American, African, and European ancestries vary across the country.…”