The anthropological genetics of the Black Caribs “Garifuna” of Central America and the Caribbean

Abstract

AbstractThe Black Caribs “Garifuna” originated on St. Vincent Island, in the West Indies, as a cultural and biological amalgam between Amerindians “Arawak and Island Caribs” and West Africans. A total of 2,026 of the Black Caribs were deported by the British in 1797 to the Bay Islands, from which they further emigrated to Honduras, Central America. The Garifuna provide an example of evolutionary success by a colonizing population with one of the highest observed fertility levels “a mean of 10.9 children per woman 45 years of age or older” in the world. The Central American Black Carib population has increased from fewer than 2,000 persons in 1800 to approximately 70,000 at present. It has been estimated that an additional 20,000 Black Caribs have immigrated to England, the United States, and other parts of the world.This review focuses upon the observed genetic variation and population structure of the Black Caribs. The population structure is characterized by a series of fissions and fusions of the gene pool. Fusion and genetic hybridization play a major role in the early development of this society. Subdivision of the hybrid gene pool occurs as the Black Caribs colonize the coast of Central America, rapidly expanding their domain to an area over 1,000 kilometers of the coast.Blood genetic analyses reveal that the St. Vincent Black Caribs' gene pool contains the highest proportion of Amerindian genes “approximately 50%”, while the coastal communities exhibit a more African ancestry “up to 80%”. This apparent discrepancy can be explained in one of three ways: “1” the original Black Caribs of St. Vincent had a higher proportion of Amerindian genes. However, gene flow and incorporation of African populations residing along the coast into the Black Carib gene pool resulted in more African coastal groups; “2” those Black Caribs displaying African phenotypes were selectively deported; “3” that natural selection, in a malarial environment, operated in favor of those individuals with the more African phenotypes and resistance to Plasmodium falciparum.