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English to Portuguese: Ancient DNA reveals diverse origins of Caribbean’s earliest inhabitants | DNA antigo revela diversas origens dos primeiros habitantes do Caribe General field: Science Detailed field: Archaeology
Source text - English Ancient DNA suggests early migrants to the Caribbean may have come from several places, including perhaps North America.
By Lizzie Wade
The Caribbean, which today includes a diverse mix of human cultures, was one of the last places in the Americas occupied by people. Yet researchers don’t know precisely where these early migrants came from when they arrived somewhere between 8000 and 5000 years ago. Now, ancient DNA suggests the deep history of the Caribbean includes complex tales of migration and mingling, including how descendants of the first waves of inhabitants interacted with newcomers who arrived beginning 2800 years ago.
“I’m thrilled to see the time span they were able to cover,” says Jada Benn Torres, a genetic anthropologist at Vanderbilt University who wasn’t involved in the new research. Genetic material decays quickly in tropical environments, she notes, and only a handful of genomes from precolonial Caribbean people had been sequenced prior to the new work.
Archaeologists divide precolonial Caribbean history into two eras: the Archaic Age, which includes the region’s early settlements and stretches back 8000 years on some islands, and the Ceramic Age, which began about 2800 years ago. In this latter age, an apparent wave of new arrivals from northern South America brought different styles of pottery and a lifestyle that depended more on agriculture to the islands, according to previous archaeological and genetic research.
But the origins of the Archaic Age peoples remained unclear. A team of mostly European and Caribbean researchers analyzed the DNA of 52 individuals from seven Archaic Age archaeological sites on Cuba, spanning from 3200 years ago to 700 years ago. They found evidence of at least two genetic groups, they report today in Science. That suggests these groups came from different places. “This is the first time that we can actually say that these [early inhabitants] were not only culturally diverse, but also biologically diverse,” says Yadira Chinique de Armas, an archaeologist at the University of Winnipeg and an author of the paper.
One individual showed a genetic similarity to Indigenous people who lived on California’s Channel Islands 5000 years ago, raising the possibility that some of the Caribbean’s earliest inhabitants may have originally hailed from North America or Central America. But researchers need additional genomes from ancient people who lived in places like Florida and Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula to know for sure, says Kathrin Nägele, an archaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and the paper’s first author.
Another big question is what happened when Archaic Age groups met the Ceramic Age newcomers after 2800 years ago. The Science paper found just one person, from Puerto Rico, who shows mixed Ceramic Age and Archaic Age admixture. Another paper on ancient DNA from the Caribbean, posted this week on bioRxiv, examined 184 early Caribbean inhabitants and found two people who had a mix of genes from both Ceramic Age and Archaic Age peoples. Both individuals lived on Hispaniola, the island that today includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It’s rare to see so little genetic mixing between groups once they meet, says Hannes Schroeder, an ancient DNA researcher at the University of Copenhagen. “We need more individuals from those crucial places in order to really have an idea as to how widespread [this genetic mixing] was.”
The studies are “both really novel contributions,” says Jorge Ulloa Hung, an archaeologist at the Museum of the Dominican Man and the Technological Institute of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, who wasn’t involved in either one. Traditional models of Caribbean history, influenced by the views of European colonizers, erased the region’s complexity and diversity. But the new genetic work shows “the Caribbean was potentially always a mosaic” of cultures, origins, and ancestries.
Translation - Portuguese DNA antigo sugere que os primeiros imigrantes do Caribe podem ter vindo de muitos lugares, incluindo talvez da América do Norte.
Por Lizzie Wade
O Caribe, que hoje inclui uma combinação diversa de culturas humanas, foi um dos últimos lugares nas Américas a ser povoado. Entretanto, pesquisadores não sabem exatamente de onde essas pessoas vieram quando chegaram em algum momento entre 8000 e 5000 anos atrás. Agora, DNA antigo sugere que a história completa dos caribenhos inclui complexas narrativas de migração e miscigenação, incluindo como os descendentes da primeira leva de habitantes interagiu com os que chegaram a partir de 2800 anos atrás.
"Fico empolgada ao ver o intervalo de tempo que eles puderam cobrir," diz Jada Benn Torres, uma antropologista genética da Universidade Vanderbilt que não esteve envolvida com a nova pesquisa. Material genético se degenera rapidamente em ambientes tropicais, ela observa, e poucos genomas de caribenhos pré-coloniais tinham sido sequenciados antes desse novo trabalho.
Arqueologistas dividem a história do Caribe pré-colonial em duas eras: a Idade Arcaica, que inclui os primeiros assentamentos da região e data de até cerca de 8000 anos em algumas ilhas, e a Era da Cerâmica, que começou cerca de 2800 anos atrás. Nessa era mais recente, uma aparente onda de recém-chegados da parte norte da América do Sul trouxe à ilha diferentes modelos de cerâmica e um estilo de vida que dependia mais da agricultura, de acordo com pesquisas genéticas e arqueológicas anteriores.
Mas as origens dos povos da Idade Arcaica permaneceram obscuras. Um time de pesquisadores majoritariamente europeus e caribenhos analisou o DNA de 52 indivíduos de sete sítios arqueológicos da Idade Arcaica em Cuba, abrangendo de 3200 a 700 anos atrás. Eles encontraram evidências de pelo menos dois grupos genéticos, relatam hoje à Science. Isso sugere que esses grupos vieram de diferentes lugares. "Essa é de fato a primeira vez que nós podemos dizer que esses (primeiros habitantes) eram não somente culturalmente diversos, mas também biologicamente diversos," diz Yadira Chinique de Armas, arqueologista da Universidade de Winnipeg e uma das autoras do trabalho.
Um indivíduo apresentou similaridade genética com os povos indígenas que viveram nas Ilhas do Canal da Califórnia 5000 anos atrás, levantando a possibilidade de que alguns dos primeiros habitantes do Caribe tenham vindo da América do Norte ou da América Central. Entretanto, pesquisadores precisam de outros genomas de antigos moradores de lugares como a Flórida e a península mexicana de Iucatã para saber com certeza, afirma Kathrin Nägele, uma arqueogeneticista do Instituto Max Planck para a Ciência da História Humana, e principal autora do trabalho.
Outra grande questão é o que aconteceu quando grupos da Idade Arcaica encontraram os recém-chegados da Idade da Cerâmica 2800 anos atrás. O artigo da Science encontrou apenas uma pessoa, de Porto Rico, com mistura genética da Idade da Cerâmica e da Idade Arcaica. Outro trabalho sobre DNA antigo do Caribe, publicado essa semana no bioRxiv, examinou 184 habitantes caribenhos primitivos e encontrou duas pessoas com genes misturados, tanto de povos da Idade da Cerâmica quanto da Idade Arcaica. Ambos os indivíduos viviam em Hispaniola, uma ilha que hoje inclui o Haiti e a República Dominicana. É raro vermos tão pouca mistura genética entre grupos depois deles se encontrarem, afirma Hannes Schroeder, um pesquisador da Universidade de Copenhagen. "Nós precisamos de mais indivíduos advindos desses lugares cruciais para ter realmente uma ideia do quão difundida [essa mistura genética] foi."
Os estudos são “ambos contribuições muito recentes," diz Jorge Ulloa Hung, um arqueologista do Museu do Homem Dominicano e do Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo na República Dominicana, que não esteve envolvido com nenhum dos projetos. Modelos tradicionais da história caribenha, influenciados pelo olhar dos colonizadores europeus, apagaram a complexidade e diversidade da região. Mas o novo trabalho genético mostra que "o Caribe foi potencialmente sempre um mosaico" de culturas, origens e ancestralidade.
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Born in Florida but grew up in São Paulo, Brazil. My professional background is in Life Sciences and I have experience with biochemical research as well as with basic and high school level education. I have also participated on projects focused on environmental issues.
I am a C2 level professional in English and an aspiring translator trying to launch my career. I have volunteered for institutions such as TED and Wikipedia and have translated many scientific papers and articles for university colleagues. I hope you can give me a chance! I am a very responsible, flexible and determined translator.
I am also a very curious person, with a passion for history, literature and traveling, and an unstoppable drive for knowledge.
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