African man buried at Stone Age site in Portugal
An African man who lived 350 years ago was buried in a prehistoric shell in Amorera, Portugal.
This was very surprising because the graves of the last hunters who lived in the area 8,000 years ago are well known to archaeologists in other parts of the Amor Muke region. Researchers from Uppsala University and the University of Lisbon combined molecular biological archaeology, ancient DNA and historical records to explore the well.
We can determine that these are the first-generation African bone fragments that arrived via Portugal from Seneca from the transatlantic trade who died in the 1630s and 1760s.
His African genetic signature refers to low descent, while an analysis of dietary isotopes for most of his life, his diet consists of plant foods typically in Senegambia but not Portugal at the time, and with tropical seafood ( i.e. plow molluscs).
The isotopic oxygen signal in the biotopito reflects inland water at the point of origin, which extends to the coastal areas of present-day Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia.
For another three centuries, Africans were brutally displaced from their homeland as they were forced to adopt a new religion, a new name and a new language. African communities in their identity organized in Portugal.
We used our results to look for other clues to help us understand the unusual motives behind his burial. The burial of this man at an 8,000-year-old site is an example of the culture of preserving the cultural beliefs and practices of preserving African peoples who migrated to Europe, although the particular practice is not documented in historical records.
Like many archaeological sites, Amora may have been known to locals as an ancient burial ground with many animal and human inhabitants. This tomb appears to have been laid with a layer of sand, which indicates the size of the preparation for burial in a possibly different location; In Portugal, from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, the dead were usually not buried even religiously, but like that.
Interestingly, to this day, we find that shell mites are actively used in West Africa. In Senegambia in particular, the use of mites includes both ancient and modern tombs. The burial of this person in english Shell Midan may indicate that the site has been recognized as a site of agreement by the community of Amorera, in accordance with the African with the sociocultural traditions of West Africa. In fact, other examples of people’s burials have not been identified in the enslaved graves in the Canary Islands. Future investigations may determine whether this is an isolated event or part of a wider movement.
We tried to identify this person, and we found a document from the local church dated November 1, 1676, in which we found that a young man named Jono was killed in Arneiro da Amora, which is precisely the area where the bone remains were found. However, in church records, the victim was buried in the church, but the bones that were found were buried in the mulberry tree. In addition, the murdered man is described as dark or tanned, possibly an interracial person, but our results show that both the mother and father are of African descent.
It is unknown whether the murder described and the remains of our specific bone in a coincidence, or the result of completeness, details or inaccuracy of the histories.
Although the human remains and historical records are unknown, the suspects of unknown researchers and the reconstructed aspects of the first generation in Portugal. Otherwise, the skeleton could not be designed in the searched context. Most importantly, it shows the value of diverse modern research to examine individual African biographies in early Europe hidden in large-scale studies.
Title image – Maxilla & Dental of a model excavated in Cabaso da Amorera, Portugal, used for molecular analysis in this study. Image credit: Rita Peyroteo Stjerna