Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade

Wang, Xueye, Haour, Anne and Oelze, Vicky (2024) Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade. Nature Communications, 15. ISSN 2041-1723

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Abstract

Strontium isotope (87Sr/86 Sr) analysis with reference to strontium isotope landscapes (Sr isoscapes) allows reconstructing mobility and migration in archaeology, ecology, and forensics. However, despite the vast potential of research involving 87Sr/86 Sr analysis particularly in Africa, Sr isoscapes remain unavailable for the largest parts of the continent. Here, we measure the 87Sr/86 Sr ratios in 778 environmental samples from 24 African countries and combine this data with published data to model a bioavailable Sr isoscape for sub-Saharan Africa using random forest regression. We demonstrate the efficacy of this Sr isoscape, in combination with other lines of evidence, to trace the African roots of individuals from historic slavery contexts, particularly those with highly radiogenic 87Sr/86 Sr ratios uncommon in the African Diaspora. Our study provides an extensive African 87Sr/86 Sr dataset which includes scientifically marginalized regions of Africa, with significant implications for the archaeology of the transatlantic slave trade, wildlife ecology, conservation, and forensics.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Please see the paper for the full author list and funding information. Data availability: The software packages utilised for the analysis are publicly available and are cited either in the Methods section or in the Supplementary Information. All data (including both original data and previously published data) generated or analysed during this study are included in the main text or supplementary information files. These data are also available in the Figshare repository at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23118212.v1, which is publicly accessible with no restrictions. Source data for Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 can be found in the Supplementary Data file. Source data for Supplementary Figs. 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 are also included in the Supplementary Data file. All remaining environmental samples are stored at the University of California Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz, CA, USA), and can be accessed upon request by contacting Vicky M. Oelze at voelze@ucsc.edu. Source data are provided in the Source Data file. Source data are provided in this paper. Code availability: The R scripts used for data analysis, all the data files for modelling and the resulting isoscapes are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23118212.v1.
Faculty \ School:	University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Centres > Sainsbury Research Unit for the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Area Studies Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Centres > Centre for African Art and Archaeology
Related URLs:	http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?...
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	18 Dec 2024 01:39
Last Modified:	28 Jan 2025 23:45
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/98016
DOI:

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