Our article on the origin and health status of first-generation Africans from the Viceroyalty of New Spain is out now in @CurrentBiology! disq.us/t/3o8nra4 Here’s the #thread in case you can’t make the complete read: 
These African individuals were first noted by @MezaAbigail and colleagues to be not Native Americans and found in a hospital which was dedicated to care exclusively for the indigenous population of the Viceroyalty of the #NewSpain
Here’s a look at the excavation site: (from: arqueologiamexicana.mx/mexico-antiguo…)
The osteobiographies revealed physical hardships and traumas which, paired with historical records, make the natural conclusion that these were, in fact, the mortal remains of three enslaved Africans.
We found also pathogens (#Treponema pallidum pertenue and #HepatitisB) that, when analysed, cluster together with modern African strains, suggesting they acquired the infection most probably before being abducted from #Africa
Not only that, but suggesting that the #TransatlanticSlaveTrade played an important role in the introduction and dissemination of new #diseases in the New Spain, some of them which became very prominent for the following centuries!
Studying the #origin, #health status and #LifeStories we are able to contribute to ongoing #research efforts to draw a sharper picture of the biological and cultural legacy of the #African roots in modern #LatinAmericans and #Mexicans
@threadreaderapp unroll
