Historical genomes elucidate European settlement and the African diaspora in Delaware

•Genomic data indicate eight individuals of European and three of African ancestry •Individuals were interred in separate burial groupings based on genomic ancestry •Paternally related parent and child of African descent were identified •Maternally related grandparent, parent, and child of European descent were found The 17th-century colonization of North America brought thousands of Europeans to Indigenous lands in the Delaware region, which comprises the eastern boundary of the Chesapeake Bay in what is now the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. 1 Munroe J. History of Delaware. University of Delaware Press, 2006 Google Scholar The demographic features of these initial colonial migrations are not uniformly characterized, with Europeans and European-Americans migrating to the Delaware area from other countries and neighboring colonies as single persons or in family units of free persons, indentured servants, or tenant farmers. 2 Tomlins C. Freedom Bound: Law, Labor, and Civic Identity in Colonizing English America, 1580–1865. Cambridge University Press, 2010 Crossref Scopus (205) Google Scholar European colonizers also instituted a system of racialized slavery through which they forcibly transported thousands of Africans to the Chesapeake region. Historical information about African-descended individuals in the Delaware region is limited, with a population estimate of less than 500 persons by 1700 CE. 3 Essah P. A House Divided: Slavery and Emancipation in Delaware, 1638-1865. University of Virginia Press, 1996 Google Scholar ,4 Williams W. Slavery and Freedom in Delaware. Scholarly Resources, 1996: 1639-1865 Google Scholar To shed light on the population histories of this period, we analyzed low-coverage genomes of 11 individuals from the Avery’s Rest archaeological site (circa 1675–1725 CE), located in Delaware. Previous osteological and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analyses showed a southern group of eight individuals of European maternal descent, buried 15–20 feet from a northern group of three individuals of African maternal descent. 5 Fleskes R.E. Bruwelheide K.S. West F.L. Owsley D.W. Griffith D.R. Barca K.G. Cabana G.S. Schurr T.G. Ancient DNA and bioarchaeological perspectives on European and African diversity and relationships on the colonial Delaware frontier. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 2019; 170: 232-245 Crossref PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar Autosomal results further illuminate genomic similarities to Northwestern European reference populations or West and West-Central African reference populations, respectively. We also identify three generations of maternal kin of European ancestry and a paternal parent-offspring relationship between an adult and child of African ancestry. These findings expand our understanding of the origins and familial relationships in late 17th and early 18th century North America. The 17th-century colonization of North America brought thousands of Europeans to Indigenous lands in the Delaware region, which comprises the eastern boundary of the Chesapeake Bay in what is now the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. 1 Munroe J. History of Delaware. University of Delaware Press, 2006 Google Scholar The demographic features of these initial colonial migrations are not uniformly characterized, with Europeans and European-Americans migrating to the Delaware area from other countries and neighboring colonies as single persons or in family units of free persons, indentured servants, or tenant farmers. 2 Tomlins C. Freedom Bound: Law, Labor, and Civic Identity in Colonizing English America, 1580–1865. Cambridge University Press, 2010 Crossref Scopus (205) Google Scholar European colonizers also instituted a system of racialized slavery through which they forcibly transported thousands of Africans to the Chesapeake region. Historical information about African-descended individuals in the Delaware region is limited, with a population estimate of less than 500 persons by 1700 CE. 3 Essah P. A House Divided: Slavery and Emancipation in Delaware, 1638-1865. University of Virginia Press, 1996 Google Scholar ,4 Williams W. Slavery and Freedom in Delaware. Scholarly Resources, 1996: 1639-1865 Google Scholar To shed light on the population histories of this period, we analyzed low-coverage genomes of 11 individuals from the Avery’s Rest archaeological site (circa 1675–1725 CE), located in Delaware. Previous osteological and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence analyses showed a southern group of eight individuals of European maternal descent, buried 15–20 feet from a northern group of three individuals of African maternal descent. 5 Fleskes R.E. Bruwelheide K.S. West F.L. Owsley D.W. Griffith D.R. Barca K.G. Cabana G.S. Schurr T.G. Ancient DNA and bioarchaeological perspectives on European and African diversity and relationships on the colonial Delaware frontier. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 2019; 170: 232-245 Crossref PubMed Scopus (4) Google Scholar Autosomal results further illuminate genomic similarities to Northwestern European reference populations or West and West-Central African reference populations, respectively. We also identify three generations of maternal kin of European ancestry and a paternal parent-offspring relationship between an adult and child of African ancestry. These findings expand our understanding of the origins and familial relationships in late 17th and early 18th century North America.