Abstract
The forced relocation of several thousand Africans during Mexico's historic period has so far been documented mostly through archival sources, which provide only sparse detail on their origins and lived experience. Here, we employ a bioarchaeological approach to explore the life history of three 16th century Africans from a mass burial at the San José de los Naturales Royal Hospital in Mexico City. Our approach draws together ancient genomic data, osteological analysis, strontium isotope data from tooth enamel, δ13C and δ15N isotope data from dentine, and ethnohistorical information to reveal unprecedented detail on their origins and health. Analyses of skeletal features, radiogenic isotopes, and genetic data from uniparental, genome-wide, and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) markers are consistent with a Sub-Saharan African origin for all three individuals. Complete genomes of Treponema pallidum sub. pertenue (causative agent of yaws) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) recovered from these individuals provide insight into their health as related to infectious disease. Phylogenetic analysis of both pathogens reveals their close relationship to strains circulating in current West African populations, lending support to their origins in this region. The further relationship between the treponemal genome retrieved and a treponemal genome previously typed in an individual from Colonial Mexico highlights the role of the transatlantic slave trade in the introduction and dissemination of pathogens into the New World. Putting together all lines of evidence, we were able to create a biological portrait of three individuals whose life stories have long been silenced by disreputable historical events.
Highlights
Almost 500 years ago, in 1518, Charles I of Spain issued an authorization to transport the first African slaves into the Viceroyalty of New Spain [1]. 5 centuries later, the ancestry of those hundreds of thousands of forcefully abducted people has formed an integral part of the genetic heritage carried by a large number of people in Mexico and a highly visible part of its national cultural heritage
Our combination of genetic analyses, isotope data, ethnohistorical information, and osteobiographies led to the construction of unique life portraits for three individuals from a colonial hospital cemetery in Mexico City
Sub-Saharan Africans in the Americas from the early colonial period were taken there by force, make the natural conclusion that these individuals were enslaved Africans, even in absence of concrete archaeological evidence [73]
Summary
Almost 500 years ago, in 1518, Charles I of Spain issued an authorization to transport the first African slaves into the Viceroyalty of New Spain (which at its zenith comprised the entirety of present day Mexico, the Caribbean, parts of the United States and Canada, and all Central America except for Panama) [1]. 5 centuries later, the ancestry of those hundreds of thousands of forcefully abducted people has formed an integral part of the genetic heritage carried by a large number of people in Mexico and a highly visible part of its national cultural heritage. Despite uncertainties around absolute numbers, an estimated 10.6 to 19.4 million Africans had been forcibly deported from their homelands until slavery was abolished in most parts of the Americas in the 1860s. To add to these staggering figures, high mortality rates during their voyages meant that only 9.6 to 15.5 million arrived in the Americas [3,4,5,6]. Las Leyes Nuevas (The New Laws) of 1542 prohibited the use of Native American labor as slaves in New Spain [15]
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