̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Caribbean

Ancient genome study identifies traces of indigenous “Taíno” in present-day Caribbean populations

tdk25 — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 20:00:58 +0000

Researchers were able to use the tooth of a woman found in a cave on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas to sequence the first complete ancient human genome from the Caribbean. ̽��ֱ��woman lived at some point between the 8th and 10th centuries, at least 500 years before Columbus made landfall in the Bahamas.

̽��ֱ��results provide unprecedented insights into the genetic makeup of the Taíno – a label commonly used to describe the indigenous people of that region. This includes the first clear evidence that there has been some degree of continuity between the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and contemporary communities living in the region today.

Such a link had previously been suggested by other studies based on modern DNA. None of these, however, was able to draw on an ancient genome. ̽��ֱ��new research finally provides concrete proof that indigenous ancestry in the region has survived to the present day.

Comparing the ancient Bahamian genome to those of contemporary Puerto Ricans, the researchers found that they were more closely related to the ancient Taíno than any other indigenous group in the Americas. However, they argue that this characteristic is unlikely to be exclusive to Puerto Ricans alone and are convinced that future studies will reveal similar genetic legacies in other Caribbean communities.

̽��ֱ��findings are likely to be especially significant for people in the Caribbean and elsewhere who have long claimed indigenous Taíno heritage, despite some historical narratives that inaccurately brand them “extinct”. Such misrepresentations have been heavily criticised by historians and archaeologists, as well as by descendant communities themselves, but until now they lacked clear genetic evidence to support their case.

̽��ֱ��study was carried out by an international team of researchers led by Dr Hannes Schroeder and Professor Eske Willerslev of Cambridge's Department of Zoology within the framework of the ERC Synergy project NEXUS1492. ̽��ֱ��findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Schroeder, from the ̽��ֱ�� of Copenhagen who carried out the research as part of the NEXUS1492 project, said: “It’s a fascinating finding. Many history books will tell you that the indigenous population of the Caribbean was all but wiped out, but people who self-identify as Taíno have always argued for continuity. Now we know they were right all along: there has been some form of genetic continuity in the Caribbean.”

Willerslev, who has dual posts at St John’s College, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, and the ̽��ֱ�� of Copenhagen, said: “It has always been clear that people in the Caribbean have Native American ancestry, but because the region has such a complex history of migration, it was difficult to prove whether this was specifically indigenous to the Caribbean, until now.”

̽��ֱ��researchers were also able to trace the genetic origins of the indigenous Caribbean islanders, showing that they were most closely related to Arawakan-speaking groups who live in parts of northern South America today. This suggests that the origins of at least some the people who migrated to the Caribbean can be traced back to the Amazon and Orinoco Basins, where the Arawakan languages developed.

̽��ֱ��Caribbean was one of the last parts of the Americas to be populated by humans starting around 8,000 years ago. By the time of European colonization, the islands were a complex patchwork of different societies and cultures. ̽��ֱ��“Taíno” culture was dominant in the Greater, and parts of the Lesser Antilles, as well as the Bahamas, where the people were known as Lucayans.

To trace the genetic origins of the Lucayans the researchers compared the ancient Bahamian genome with previously published genome-wide datasets for over 40 present-day indigenous groups from the Americas. In addition, they looked for traces of indigenous Caribbean ancestry in present-day populations by comparing the ancient genome with those of 104 contemporary Puerto Ricans included in the 1000 Genomes Project. ̽��ֱ��10-15% of Native American ancestry in this group was shown to be closely related to the ancient Bahamian genome.

Jorge Estevez, a Taíno descendant who works at the National Museum of the American Indian in New York and assisted the project team, said that as a boy growing up in the United States, he was told stories about his Taíno ancestors at home, but at school was taught that the same ancestors had died out. “I wish my grandmother were alive today so that I could confirm to her what she already knew,” he added. “It shows that the true story is one of assimilation, certainly, but not total extinction. I am genuinely grateful to the researchers. Although this may have been a matter of scientific inquiry for them, to us, the descendants, it is truly liberating and uplifting.”

Although indigenous Caribbean communities were island-based, the researchers found very little genomic evidence of isolation or inbreeding in the ancient genome. This reinforces earlier genetic research led by Willerslev, which suggests that early human communities developed surprisingly extensive social networks, long before the term had digital connotations. It also echoes ongoing work by researchers at the Faculty of Archaeology in Leiden and others indicating the connectedness of indigenous Caribbean communities.

Professor Corinne Hofman from Leiden ̽��ֱ�� and PI of the NEXUS1492 project, said: "Archaeological evidence has always suggested that large numbers of people who settled the Caribbean originated in South America, and that they maintained social networks that extended far beyond the local scale. Historically, it has been difficult to back this up with ancient DNA because of poor preservation, but this study demonstrates that it is possible to obtain ancient genomes from the Caribbean and that opens up fascinating new possibilities for research."

A thousand-year-old tooth has provided genetic evidence that the so-called “Taíno”, the first indigenous Americans to feel the full impact of European colonisation after Columbus arrived in the New World, still have living descendants in the Caribbean today.

It has always been clear that people in the Caribbean have Native American ancestry, but it was difficult to prove whether this was specifically indigenous to the Caribbean, until now.

Eske Willerslev

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

First encounter. Columbus landing in the New World

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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'Extreme sleepover #17' – going underground in search of zombies

lw355 — Fri, 04 Mar 2016 08:37:51 +0000

Isla de Mona has been many things: a source of melons and cotton hammocks for conquistadors in the 16th century; a pirate haunt in the 17th and 18th centuries; an industrial island fertilising the fields of the Western world with the fossilised guano of giant fish-eating bats in the 19th; a US air base in the 20th; and now, both a nature reserve and a destination for migrants seeking a better life in the USA.

This tiny island, just seven miles by four, with no permanent settlement, lies in the dangerous Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and it is the prehistory that brings us here.

̽��ֱ��plateau of limestone and dolomite is riddled with caves filled with signs of human activity. Much of this is pre-Columbian (i.e. before the Spanish arrived in the late 15th century) and consists of painted images, finger-drawn designs and extensive extractive finger scratches, which are sometimes deep within the ‘dark zones’, where no natural light falls.

I am with archaeologists Dr Alice Samson from Cambridge’s McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research and Dr Jago Cooper from the British Museum for their summer fieldwork. As a conservator with specialism in the materials and techniques of painting, I am here to analyse the pigments used to make pre-Columbian markings and with the team look at the layer structures of engravings and painted images.

I’m using an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to examine the elemental composition of the pictographs, and will later take tiny samples away for further analysis. I want to find out whether the people who made these images used materials that were at hand in the caves, or transported them in from elsewhere.

Mona’s prehistoric peoples appear to have lived on the island from at least 2800 BCE, surviving a century after the arrival of the Spanish at the end of the 15th century. ̽��ֱ��inhabitants at the time of the conquest, commonly referred to as Taínos, brought us the words hurricane, barbeque, hammock, canoe, potato and cannibal.

Caves feature prominently in Taíno mythology and it is likely that many of the anthropogenic images in the caves are zemís (considered by some the origin of the word ‘zombie’). Zemí refers to any object, animal, vegetable or mineral, which was animate and could be called upon to intervene in human affairs. Zemís were found, constructed or painted in 3D and 2D form. Although the presence of human-like figurative designs is common in Caribbean rock-art, Alice and Jago’s work is bringing to light a staggering amount of physical modification to the caves from the pre-Columbian era, particularly the extraction of soft white lime from the walls and ceilings. ̽��ֱ��purpose of this extraction and what the material was used for are not yet known.

Each morning I wake at 5.30am to the sounds of subtropical birds. It’s the only time of day cool enough to go for a run. ̽��ֱ��coastguards and rangers all eat early; for them, life on Mona is a cycle of week-on-week-off at work, with a small aircraft bringing them to and from the Puerto Rican mainland to Mona via a bumpy grass airstrip.

At the camp, there’s a small study centre (happily, with solar-powered Wi-Fi) as well as basic accommodation where the workers live, and where migrants can rest before they are moved from the island. Mona throws together strange combinations of people: border police, rangers, military personnel, scientists, cavers, immigrants and boy scouts.

We set off early in the morning. Some of the caves are nearby, but others involve more effort to carry our equipment, as they are some distance from our camp. Mona’s environment can be inhospitable and it has a fearsome reputation. There is little natural water, except sometimes deep in the caves. It is dry, hot and thorny, and the rocks are sharp. As we walk to the caves, we often disturb one of Mona’s endemic and therefore incredibly rare iguanas. They typically scuttle away from us into a hidden cave mouth.

Our team also includes Masters’ students from the Centro de Estudios Avanzados in Puerto Rico, and we work together analysing, documenting and photographing the evidence in the caves. Colonists, buccaneers, guano-miners and boy scouts have all left their mark, often with dated graffiti. On several days, we join a team of cavers who year on year visit this most cavernous location on earth to map the island’s 200-plus caves. It’s a great opportunity to learn about cave mapping and geology from experts.

If possible, lunch is taken in a cliff-side cave mouth, with a view out over the sea. On occasion, two nosy Red-Footed boobies wheel round and round to get a better look at us. ̽��ֱ��caves themselves are extremely hot, humid and dirty. At the end of the day we walk into the Caribbean sea, fully dressed in our ‘cave clothes’.

Images: Finger drawings and Lucy Wrapson

Credit: Alice Samson/El Corazon del Caribe Research project

Lucy Wrapson reports on her fieldwork analysing the curious cave paintings found on Isla de Mona, in the Caribbean, and their equally enigmatic artists.

Finger-drawn designs and extensive extractive finger scratches are sometimes deep within the ‘dark zones’, where no natural light falls

Lucy Wrapson

Alice Samson/El Corazon del Caribe Research project

Cave painting, Isla de Mona

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. For image use please see separate credits above.

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A conservation leader in the making

lw355 — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:00:09 +0000

Cycling to lectures through Cambridge’s medieval streets, learning leadership skills from pioneers in conservation of the environment, splashing into the turquoise waters of the Caribbean to observe marine life. These are among the many memories that Joy Juma will take home to Kenya after a year at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge as one of the first cohort of graduate students on the MPhil in Conservation Leadership programme.

̽��ֱ��past year has been one of the most varied and demanding in Joy’s life. Not only has she experienced one of the coldest British winters on record but she also spent seven weeks on a placement with the Cambridge-based conservation organisation Fauna & Flora International (FFI) on the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, extending her practical and grass-roots knowledge of marine conservation.

Her visit to the Caribbean entailed gathering data on the marine environment and the ways in which it intersects with two of the area’s most important sources of revenue – fishing and tourism – which are vital to the livelihoods of thousands of people on modest or low incomes. ̽��ֱ��emphasis of her research was on marine governance. “On Antigua, I was based at the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing and the Environment, and also spent some time talking to individual fishermen about their working lives. It was so encouraging that the fishermen are really keen to conserve their environment and they showed a deep understanding of ecosystem dynamics,” she said.

“On Barbuda, I found that people felt an even stronger sense of ownership of the marine environment, perhaps because land there is communally owned. This revealed itself in their interest in marine conservation. On both islands, there is a profound commitment to sustainable management and a willingness to work towards this that was really exciting. It shows how conservationists and communities can work together to protect threatened species and the habitats they live in. What emerged most forcefully from my placement was the similarity of conservation problems globally and the opportunities for learning from each other.”

Once back in Kenya, where she works for the East African arm of FFI, Joy will apply her experiences in the Caribbean and what she has learnt on the MPhil programme in Cambridge. In 2009, together with colleagues at FFI, she was instrumental in setting up marine conservation projects with fishing communities at six different landing places on the south coast of Kenya. ̽��ֱ��objective is to manage marine resources in a way that is sustainable and participatory. “It’s a scheme that brings diverse stakeholders together for a common purpose – and the early indications are that it is very effective,” she explained.

Joy has been passionate about conservation ever since she was a teenager. On leaving school, she took a degree in environmental studies at Nairobi’s Kenyatta ̽��ֱ��, concentrating on community development. After graduating, she spent a year working as a volunteer for the East African Wildlife Society, a Kenyan-based NGO. “I worked on the restoration of a lake that straddles the boundary between Kenya and Tanzania, and during this time I gained essential skills and experience,” she said. Having excelled as a volunteer, and shown her ability to co-ordinate and manage projects, Joy was offered a post with FFI as a programme assistant. After four years she was promoted to a programme co-ordinator.

In East Africa, FFI works across four countries – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Sudan. In her five years with the organisation, Joy has been involved in various projects, including participatory forest management and species recovery. During this time she twice visited the headquarters of FFI, which has strong links with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� as a founding partner of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI). “I liked what I saw of Cambridge, which is a real hub for conservation and has a strong international ethos. So when I heard about the new Masters in Conservation Leadership, I was really keen to apply for a place,” she said.

“What appealed to me about the course was the chance to develop skills that are crucial in project management. I liked the way in which the course is structured to give participants a solid grounding in leadership – such as communication and financial planning – as well as incorporating a placement with a partner organisation that would offer a chance to see another environment and another set of challenges.”

When FFI and the MAVA programme in Conservation Leadership agreed to sponsor Joy’s place on the programme, she was thrilled but also nervous. “I knew it was a huge opportunity to develop myself professionally. I was also aware that I’d be thrown back on my own resources far from my usual support network in East Africa,” she admitted. She need not have worried. ̽��ֱ��12 students from nine different countries on the programme quickly formed a strong bond. “We have a huge diversity of backgrounds and interests, so we have been able to learn a vast amount from each other,” she said.

̽��ֱ��Masters comprises two parts: the first of which is largely taught by lecturers from every organisation in CCI, talking about their specialist fields, and the second of which is the placement. “In the first two terms we had lectures from many of the pioneering groups and centres based in and around Cambridge – it was an amazing chance to hear from them and to be able to ask questions. What I found especially useful were the leadership lectures from people at the helm of established institutions,” added Joy.

Life as a Cambridge student has been rewarding and challenging. “Spending a year living and working in Cambridge has been a stimulating experience. I will be returning to Kenya ready to be an innovative and effective conservation leader.”

Joy Juma, from Kenya, is among the first early-career conservation practitioners to take an innovative Masters programme at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge.

What emerged most forcefully from my placement was the similarity of conservation problems globally and the opportunities for learning from each other.

Joy Juma

Working in the Caribbean with Fauna & Flora International

Joy Juma

MPhil in Conservation Leadership

Launched in 2010 by the Department of Geography, the MPhil in Conservation Leadership focuses on equipping its students with the tools to become professional managers in the world of conservation. Key to its success is the collective expertise of partners in the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI): eight leading conservation organisations and one conservation network clustered in the Cambridge area and six departments across the ̽��ֱ��, including the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership.

Students go beyond developing a deeper awareness of the complex drivers of biodiversity loss to learn skills that will prepare them for the challenges of leadership: strategic planning, finance, innovation, entrepreneurship, advocacy and communication.

̽��ֱ��Director of Conservation Leadership, and Fellow of Churchill College, Dr Nigel Leader-Williams, explained: “ ̽��ֱ��programme is built along similar lines to the business school model, with a professional placement spent with one of CCI organisations providing the students with hands-on experience of management tasks.”

Many of the students are from less-developed countries, where the most biodiversity remains but also where the losses are probably the greatest. “We need to grow the number of dedicated scholarships that are available for the course because most of the students we aim to attract don’t have the funds necessary to cover the costs of the course,” added Dr Leader-Williams. ̽��ֱ��programme is supported for a period of 10 years by a generous gift from the MAVA Fondation pour la Protection de la Nature, while Arcadia has agreed to establish a Miriam Rothschild Scholarship Programme in Conservation Leadership for the next five years.

As the first cohort of students complete their studies and resume their careers in conservation around the globe, the contacts they have made will be invaluable. This, explained Dr Mike Rands, Executive Director of CCI, is a strategic aim of the programme: “With successive years, this innovative course will create a growing international leadership network, build conservation capacity and become a major force for better environmental stewardship.”

For more information, please contact Dr Nigel Leader-Williams (nigel.leader-williams@geog.cam.ac.uk) or visit www.geog.cam.ac.uk/graduate/mphil/conservation/

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