TY - JOUR
T1 - Strontium isoscape of sub-Saharan Africa allows tracing origins of victims of the transatlantic slave trade
AU - Wang, Xueye
AU - Haour, Anne
AU - Oelze, Vicky
N1 - 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 [email protected]. 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.
PY - 2024/12/30
Y1 - 2024/12/30
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85214188708&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41467-024-55256-0
DO - 10.1038/s41467-024-55256-0
M3 - Article
SN - 2041-1723
VL - 15
JO - Nature Communications
JF - Nature Communications
M1 - 10891
ER -