Nested Admixture During and After the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on the Island of Sao Tome.

ABSTRACT: Human genetic admixture, involving the contact between two or more previously isolated populations, can be a complex process influenced by social dynamics. In this study, we aim to reconstruct complex admixture histories in São Tomé, an island in the Gulf of Guinea where the Portuguese established one of the first plantation-based slave societies. Since the 15th century, migration waves from Africa and Europe, slavery, marooning, and indentured labour led to profound demographic shifts and social stratification on the island. Examining 2.5 million SNPs newly genotyped in 96 São Toméans, we observed patterns of genetic differentiation that were more complex than those of other populations descended from enslaved Africans on either side of the Atlantic. Using local ancestry inference and Ide

SUBMITTER: Ciccarella M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12284396 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature