This Black History Month, we’re expanding our Historical MatchesSM feature to include 16 new historical African and African American individuals from the U.S. and Mexico. Their genomes were sequenced as part of two powerful studies that demonstrate how ancient DNA can help shed light on the lives of individuals who were left out of the historical record.
The Story of Three African Individuals in Colonial Mexico
Three individuals were buried in a 16th century mass grave in Mexico City. Through ancient DNA and anthropological analysis, researchers identified them as first-generation Africans who were likely forcibly transported to Mexico as part of the transatlantic slave trade. Their DNA revealed close ties to present-day Central-Western African populations. Further analysis showed that one individual was infected with hepatitis B, while another may have suffered from yaws, a bacterial infection affecting the skin, bones, and joints.
The Story of Catoctin Furnace Ironworkers
We’ve also expanded the Catoctin Furnace Ironworkers group, which now includes all 22 African Americans whose genomes were analyzed in our 2022 study where we introduced the technology that drives our Historical Matches feature, which is available to all 23andMe+ Premium members. In addition to the nine previously included individuals, we just added 13 more African Americans who were likely enslaved at the site. Their DNA isn’t as well preserved, meaning genetic matches to them should be interpreted with some caution. But we felt it was important to include them—to acknowledge their lives and their contributions to early American history.
We hope that these new updates to the Historical Matches feature highlight how ancient DNA can help us to restore the memory of individuals whose history may previously have been overlooked.
