DNA Shows West African Roots in 7th-Century England

A groundbreaking discovery has revealed that two individuals buried in 7th-century England had West African grandparents. The finding, based on DNA analysis of skeletons unearthed in Kent and Dorset, challenges long-held assumptions about the extent of migration and cultural integration in early medieval Britain.

West African Heritage in Medieval Britain

The remains of a man and a woman, both dating back more than 1,300 years, showed strong genetic links to modern-day Yoruba, Mende, Mandenka, and Esan populations from West Africa. Scientists were surprised to discover that each had a direct paternal grandparent from Africa, indicating a much earlier and more diverse integration of Africans into European society than previously thought.

Study Published in Antiquity Journal

The results, published in the respected journal Antiquity, represent one of the first pieces of concrete evidence that Africans were part of medieval England’s population. Previously, most research suggested that long-distance migration into Britain came mainly from the Mediterranean or northern Europe, but this new evidence expands that picture.

Evidence of a Cosmopolitan Early England

Dr. Ceiridwen J. Edwards, one of the study’s co-authors, emphasized that the findings underscore the diversity of early English communities. “Our joint results emphasise the cosmopolitan nature of England in the early medieval period, pointing to a diverse population with far-flung connections who were, nonetheless, fully integrated into the fabric of daily life,” she explained.

Migration Routes from Africa to England

Researchers believe the two individuals were descendants of people who left the southern Sahel region between the mid-sixth and early seventh centuries. During this period, North Africa was under Byzantine control, and the empire’s influence stretched across the Mediterranean into distant regions such as Britain.

Byzantine Trade and Cultural Links

Evidence of Byzantine influence in England had already been recorded in the form of gold coins minted with Sub-Saharan African gold found across the country. The discovery of African-descended individuals in Kent and Dorset adds a human dimension to these connections, proving that trade and cultural exchanges also involved the movement of people, not just goods.

Africans Were Not Slaves in 7th-Century England

One of the study’s most striking conclusions is that these African-descended individuals were not enslaved. Large-scale enslavement and trafficking of Africans did not begin until roughly two centuries later. Instead, the man and woman were buried with the same customs and respect as their local peers, showing that they were fully accepted and integrated members of their communities.

Integration into Medieval British Society

The burials suggest that these individuals lived and died as ordinary members of their communities. They were not marked as outsiders in death, which indicates that people of African heritage had already become a natural part of early medieval British society. This sheds new light on the diversity of populations in Europe over a millennium ago.

Rewriting European Migration History

The findings have broad implications for the way historians understand migration in early Europe. They demonstrate that long-distance movement from Africa to Britain was possible and more common than previously believed. More importantly, the discovery challenges modern assumptions about identity and belonging, showing that cultural and genetic diversity were already present in the roots of English history.

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