title: Palenque de San Basilio in Colombia: genetic data support an oral history of a paternal ancestry in Congo.
abstract: The Palenque, a black community in rural Colombia, have an oral history of fugitive African slaves founding a free village near Cartagena in the seventeenth century. Recently, linguists have identified some 200 words in regular use that originate in a Kikongo language, with Yombe, mainly spoken in the Congo region, being the most likely source. The non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome (NRY) and mitochondrial DNA were analysed to establish whether there was greater similarity between present-day members of the Palenque and Yombe than between the Palenque and 42 other African groups (for all individuals,n= 2799) from which forced slaves might have been taken. NRY data are consistent with the linguistic evidence that Yombe is the most likely group from which the original male settlers of Palenque came. Mitochondrial DNA data suggested substantial maternal sub-Saharan African ancestry and a strong founder effect but did not associate Palenque with any particular African group. In addition, based on cultural data including inhabitants' claims of linguistic differences, it has been hypothesized that the two districts of the village (Abajo and Arriba) have different origins, with Arriba founded by men originating in Congo and Abajo by those born in Colombia. Although significant genetic structuring distinguished the two from each other, no supporting evidence for this hypothesis was found.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of New Sciences and Technology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran n.ansaripour@ut.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Naser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ansari-Pour
authors.affiliation: LLACAN, CNRS, Villejuif, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Moñino
authors.affiliation: Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Constanza
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duque
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Antioquia UdeA, Calle 70 No 52-21 Medellín, Colombia.
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bedoya
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Mark G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Henry Stewart Group, 29/30 Little Russell Street, London, UK.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bradman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics; D041322:Chromosomes, Human, Y / Q000235:genetics*; D003105:Colombia; D003223:Congo / Q000208:ethnology; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics*; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000208:ethnology; D018703:Founder Effect; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: African diaspora; Atlantic slave trade; Y chromosome; linguistic; mitochondrial DNA