DNA from Hagley Plantation cemetery reveals ancestral origins of South Carolina slaves

Summary

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Georgetown County in South Carolina was the most prominent rice-producing region and contained some of the largest slave plantations in the New World. Working with a collection of commingled human remains, this study uses ancient DNA extraction and sequencing methods, population genomic models, and bioinformatic tools to reconstruct the ancestral origins and genomic profile of some of the enslaved laborers who came to be buried in the chapel cemetery on Hagley Plantation in the South Carolina Low Country. Results from the genetic analysis show that the Hagley laborers came from populations in west, central, and east Africa, and supplement previous bioarchaeological research. Working in collaboration with the descendent community, this project aims to shed light on the lineages severed by the transatlantic slave trade, and better understanding of the new kinship networks formed by enslaved laborers. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Poster Submission 2018   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 1098