23 November 2024 The Future is the Product of the Past

An Anthropologist’s life work uncovers the first ancient DNA from the Swahili Civilization

Chapurukha Kusimba, an anthropologist at the University of South Florida, has uncovered the first ancient DNA from the Swahili Civilization, prosperous trading states on the East African coast dating back to the 7th century.

From Kenya to Mozambique, Chapurukha Kusimba, a USF professor of anthropology, dedicated 40 years to studying the ancestry of those who built the civilizations.

The urban peoples of the Swahili coast traded across eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean and were among the first practitioners of Islam among sub-Saharan people.

A common language of African origin (Kiswahili), a shared dominant religion (Islam), and a geographic distribution in coastal towns and villages were the defining characteristics of the Swahili culture of eastern Africa during the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period beginning in the seventh century AD.

Published in Nature, this work examines the DNA of 80 individuals from as long as 800 years ago – making it the first ancient DNA uncovered from the Swahili Civilization. 

The site of tombs along the Swahili Coast
The site of tombs along the Swahili Coast

“This research has been my life’s work – this journey to recover the past of the Swahili and restore them to rightful citizenship,” Kusimba said. “These findings bring out the African contributions, and indeed, the Africanness of the Swahili, without marginalizing the Persian and Indian connection.”

As part of his decades-long research, Kusimba, a Kenya native, spent time with the people of Swahili to gain their trust before receiving their approval to complete cemetery excavations. To respect the remains, Kusimba finished the sampling and re-burial process all in one season.

Working alongside Harvard geneticists David Reich and Esther Brielle and corresponding authors, Jeff Fleisher from Rice University and Stephanie Wynne-Jones from University of York, Kusimba discovered the ancestry of the people analyzed was both African and Asian. The DNA revealed a pattern: the overwhelming majority of male-line ancestors came from Asia, while the female-line ancestors came from Africa.

Despite their intermarrying, descendants spoke an African language, not an Asian one. This led researchers to conclude that African women had great influence on the formation of the culture. So much so, the villages were established prior to the colonialism from Asia, making women the primary holders of economic and social power.

The findings challenge centuries-old narratives – constructed by other African natives – that suggest wealthier Swahilis did not have real ancestral connections to Asia and only claimed they did in order to minimize their African heritage to obtain higher social status and cultural affinities. Despite the vital role Swahilis played in trade between Africa and the rest of the Indian Ocean world for more than 2,500 years, Kusimba’s previous work from the 1990s documented the poor treatment of Swahili descent communities as a result of the narratives.

University of South Florida anthropologist Chapurukha Kusimba (right) sits aboard a Swahili coastal boat beside longtime colleague Mohamed Mchulla Mohamed, curator emeritus of the National Museums of Kenya. Photo: Chapurukha Kusimba, University of South Florida
University of South Florida anthropologist Chapurukha Kusimba (right) sits aboard a Swahili coastal boat beside longtime colleague Mohamed Mchulla Mohamed, curator emeritus of the National Museums of Kenya. Photo: Chapurukha Kusimba, University of South Florida

“I believe I was among many scholars who had worked on the Kenyan coast who did not think that the story from Persia was much more than that – a story,” said Dillon Mahoney, USF assistant professor and volunteer who works with recently resettled Swahili-speaking refugees.

“This research is not only significant for its scientific achievement, but it tells us that we must take non-Western and oral histories into full consideration, because our ancestry research is tending to support such stories, even if generations of academics have largely viewed such stories with skepticism.”

The results from this work prove Asians and African ancestors began intermarrying at least 1,000 years ago, but long after Africans had already established their villages. 

“Our results do not provide simple validation for the narratives previously advanced in archaeological, historical or political circles,” Kusimba said. “Instead, they contradict and complicate those narratives.”

By challenging and overturning the narratives imposed from the outside for political and economic ends, this research brings peace and restores pride to the millions of people who identify as Swahili today. Up until now, it has been difficult to determine how people who identify as Swahili today relate to people of the early modern Swahili culture.

University of South Florida

doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-05754

Related Articles

The 2000-year-old origin mystery of the Etruscans solved

25 September 2021

25 September 2021

A genetic analysis of DNA taken from ancient skeletons appears to have answered a conundrum that has captivated researchers for...

Ukrainian Stonehenge

6 July 2021

6 July 2021

It has almost become a tradition to compare the structures surrounded by stones to the Stonehenge monument. This ancient cemetery,...

3,000-year-old skeletons of nine children were discovered in Qazvin province, Iran

29 April 2023

29 April 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Tehran have discovered the remains of children dating back 3,000 years during excavations in an...

A 2600-year-old Clay Pot was Repurposed As Trash Bin in An Iranian Museum

13 November 2023

13 November 2023

A clay pot dating back to the 2600-year-old Medes period is now serving as a trash bin in a museum...

Saudi Archaeologists have discovered a pre-Islamic Musnad inscription and a bronze bullhead

18 February 2023

18 February 2023

Saudi archaeologists have discovered the longest pre-Islamic Musnad inscription -of the ancient south Arabian script- and three gold rings and...

An inscription containing 15 headless falcons and unknown ancient rituals found in an ancient Egyptian temple

8 October 2022

8 October 2022

Archaeologists have discovered a shrine containing previously unknown ancient rituals during excavations at Berenike, a Greco-Roman port in Egypt’s eastern...

Göbeklitepe Monolith will be Exhibited in the United Nations

15 May 2021

15 May 2021

A copy of one of the famous ruins of Göbeklitepe, known as the oldest temple in the world, will be...

A bronze seal matrix of St George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal Château of Villers-Cotterêts in northern France

21 March 2022

21 March 2022

A previously unpublished and unknown bronze seal matrix of Saint George slaying the dragon has been discovered at the royal...

High-status Macedonian tomb discovered in ancient Aegae, Central Macedonia

2 April 2024

2 April 2024

In the ancient city of Aegae (present-day Vergina) in Imathia, Central Macedonia, during the construction of the sewerage network, tomb...

Assyrian Art at Getty Villa

22 June 2021

22 June 2021

The Getty Villa in Malibu, California’s arts complex is showcasing superbly-restored gypsum reliefs from the Assyrian Empire’s palaces for its...

The researchers may have cracked the mystery of da Vinci’s DNA

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

A recent study of Leonardo da Vinci’s family tree indicates that the renowned Renaissance artist, inventor, and anatomist had 14...

Gravitational Wave Researchers Shed New Light on the Mystery of the 2,000-Year-Old Computer Antikythera Mechanism

28 June 2024

28 June 2024

Astronomers from the University of Glasgow who specialize in studying tiny ripples in space-time have shed new light on the...

2,300-year-old Punic tomb complex found during works on car park for staff

26 October 2024

26 October 2024

A 2,300-year-old Punic tomb was discovered during work in a car park near Mater Dei Hospital in Msida, Malta. The...

With the withdrawal of Lake Van, the Urartian road to Çarpanak Island emerged

18 May 2022

18 May 2022

In Lake Van in eastern Turkey, the water level fell due to global warming, and a one-kilometer Urartian road connecting...

The Colossal Nordic Bronze Age Hall Unearthed in Germany May Be the Legendary King Hinz Meeting Hall

5 November 2023

5 November 2023 2

A colossal hall from the Bronze Age was discovered during excavations near the “royal grave” of Seddin (Prignitz district) northwest...