Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter. / Schablitsky, Julie M.; Witt, Kelsey E.; Madrigal, Jazmín Ramos; Ellegaard, Martin R.; Malhi, Ripan S.; Schroeder, Hannes.

In: Journal of Archaeological Science, Vol. 105, 2019, p. 11-18.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Schablitsky, JM, Witt, KE, Madrigal, JR, Ellegaard, MR, Malhi, RS & Schroeder, H 2019, 'Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter', Journal of Archaeological Science, vol. 105, pp. 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.006

APA

Schablitsky, J. M., Witt, K. E., Madrigal, J. R., Ellegaard, M. R., Malhi, R. S., & Schroeder, H. (2019). Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter. Journal of Archaeological Science, 105, 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.006

Vancouver

Schablitsky JM, Witt KE, Madrigal JR, Ellegaard MR, Malhi RS, Schroeder H. Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter. Journal of Archaeological Science. 2019;105:11-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.006

Author

Schablitsky, Julie M. ; Witt, Kelsey E. ; Madrigal, Jazmín Ramos ; Ellegaard, Martin R. ; Malhi, Ripan S. ; Schroeder, Hannes. / Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter. In: Journal of Archaeological Science. 2019 ; Vol. 105. pp. 11-18.

Bibtex

@article{3a1b9b76630b4f1f8f5d994ab339ed6c,
title = "Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter",
abstract = "Archaeologists often struggle with the challenge of linking historic-period artifact assemblages with specific communities. In particular, small home sites discovered on historic plantations are often difficult to identify as an African American or white tenant house since the material culture appears similar. The discipline also struggles with how to identify the expression of specific West African cultures in their archaeological assemblages. Here, we discuss how DNA was successfully extracted and analyzed from a clay tobacco pipe stem collected from an African American slave quarter in Maryland, USA, and what this information can and cannot reveal about the people present at the site. We successfully identified DNA from a woman, and genome-wide analyses revealed she was closely related to Mende living in present-day Sierra Leone, West Africa. The ability to recover genetic data from personal artifacts now provides archaeologists a viable tool to address questions about communities and ancestral origins. Furthermore, these findings hold the potential to connect living descendants with their ancestors{\textquoteright} homes.",
keywords = "African diaspora, Ancient DNA, Genetic ancestry, Historical archaeology, Slavery",
author = "Schablitsky, {Julie M.} and Witt, {Kelsey E.} and Madrigal, {Jazm{\'i}n Ramos} and Ellegaard, {Martin R.} and Malhi, {Ripan S.} and Hannes Schroeder",
note = "Corrigendum: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030544032300081X?via%3Dihub",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.006",
language = "English",
volume = "105",
pages = "11--18",
journal = "Journal of Archaeological Science",
issn = "0305-4403",
publisher = "Academic Press",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Ancient DNA analysis of a nineteenth century tobacco pipe from a Maryland slave quarter

AU - Schablitsky, Julie M.

AU - Witt, Kelsey E.

AU - Madrigal, Jazmín Ramos

AU - Ellegaard, Martin R.

AU - Malhi, Ripan S.

AU - Schroeder, Hannes

N1 - Corrigendum: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030544032300081X?via%3Dihub

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Archaeologists often struggle with the challenge of linking historic-period artifact assemblages with specific communities. In particular, small home sites discovered on historic plantations are often difficult to identify as an African American or white tenant house since the material culture appears similar. The discipline also struggles with how to identify the expression of specific West African cultures in their archaeological assemblages. Here, we discuss how DNA was successfully extracted and analyzed from a clay tobacco pipe stem collected from an African American slave quarter in Maryland, USA, and what this information can and cannot reveal about the people present at the site. We successfully identified DNA from a woman, and genome-wide analyses revealed she was closely related to Mende living in present-day Sierra Leone, West Africa. The ability to recover genetic data from personal artifacts now provides archaeologists a viable tool to address questions about communities and ancestral origins. Furthermore, these findings hold the potential to connect living descendants with their ancestors’ homes.

AB - Archaeologists often struggle with the challenge of linking historic-period artifact assemblages with specific communities. In particular, small home sites discovered on historic plantations are often difficult to identify as an African American or white tenant house since the material culture appears similar. The discipline also struggles with how to identify the expression of specific West African cultures in their archaeological assemblages. Here, we discuss how DNA was successfully extracted and analyzed from a clay tobacco pipe stem collected from an African American slave quarter in Maryland, USA, and what this information can and cannot reveal about the people present at the site. We successfully identified DNA from a woman, and genome-wide analyses revealed she was closely related to Mende living in present-day Sierra Leone, West Africa. The ability to recover genetic data from personal artifacts now provides archaeologists a viable tool to address questions about communities and ancestral origins. Furthermore, these findings hold the potential to connect living descendants with their ancestors’ homes.

KW - African diaspora

KW - Ancient DNA

KW - Genetic ancestry

KW - Historical archaeology

KW - Slavery

U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.006

DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2019.02.006

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85062725593

VL - 105

SP - 11

EP - 18

JO - Journal of Archaeological Science

JF - Journal of Archaeological Science

SN - 0305-4403

ER -

ID: 217932805