Times of the Islands Summer 2022

More documents

Recommendations

Info

MICHAEL PATEMAN This Lucayan man was buried in an Atlantic Ocean-facing sand dune on Long Island, The Bahamas. This individual has a distant cousin buried in Cueva de los Esqueletos 1, Camagüey, Cuba. in Hispaniola and Cuba. Only a very small number of the individuals studied had both Ciboney- and Arawak-related ancestries. All traces of Ciboney culture disappeared soon after the Arawak arrived. The one exception is western Cuba where the Ciboney survived in independent communities, possibly until Spanish contact. Within the Caribbean Arawak gene pool there are also subtle differences, called “genetic substructure.” These result from some barriers — natural, social, or culturally-imposed — that give some groups a slightly unique genetic signature relative to others. The Lucayans share their slightly unique genetic signature with the ceramic-using people living in Cuba (but not the Ciboney), which suggests that these communities shared common ancestors or possibly intermarried. Thus, in terms of regional relationships, DNA shows that the Lucayans were not genetically related to the Ciboney; that Lucayans share a direct ancestral link to the Arawak peoples of South America who settled the Antilles; and that the Lucayans and ceramic-using Cubans share some genetic similarities, possibly because of recent common ancestors. We’re not done yet! It also is possible to obtain very specific information about genetic relatedness (think paternity test). The degree to which particular individuals are related to others can be estimated by identifying segments of the genome that are inherited from a common ancestor, referred to as “Identity by Descent” (IBD). Comparing the IBD segments on the X chromosomes from pairs of males (who only have one X chromosome, while females have two), the Harvard team identified 19 pairs of distant “cousins” who were buried on different islands. In this sense, cousin is determined by the quantity of shared genetic material, and not the particular family relationship for which we use the term. Of the 29 Lucayans included in this study, there were 14 distant cousin pairs which involved a Lucayan male and another individual buried on other islands in The Bahamas or at multiple sites in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and in one case Cuba. These “cousin” pairs document ancestral connections to people living throughout the Greater Antilles, and attest to the remarkable speed with which the Arawak expansion took place. A final question concerns the size of the Lucayan population. How many Lucayans were living in these islands when the Spanish arrived? The one available Spanish accounting says that 40,000 Lucayans were enslaved and shipped to Hispaniola in the early 1500s. But how reliable is this testimony? We know that early Spanish accounts were given to grand exaggerations, especially when potential wealth and local labor was concerned. We need an independent and objective method for estimating the size of the population. Once again, genetics can help. The size of a group’s effective population (that is, the number of individuals 28 www.timespub.tc
who are potential reproductive partners) is reflected in the amount and length of “Runs of Homozygosity” (ROH), which are segments of DNA where both parents passed down the exact same genetic code. Large sums of long ROH suggest parental relatedness within a few generations, while an abundance of short ROH reflects small mating pools. We can estimate effective population size based on the amount and size of shared segments of the genome, and after estimating effective population size, we can extrapolate to estimate census population size. Confusing? Think of this in terms of a dating app. Based on your profile, a number of people are recommended as potentially compatible dates — this is your effective “dating pool.” Yet the size of your personal dating pool is only a percentage of everyone registered on the app. By knowing the number of people identified for you, you can then estimate the total number of people looking for a date. For the Lucayans, the mating pool is estimated as between 500 to 900. For humans, the effective population size is about 1/3 to 1/10 of the census population size, which gives us a total Lucayan population of between 1,500 and 9,000 people. These numbers are consistent with values calculated for the rest of the Caribbean. On the whole, the precontact Caribbean population was substantially smaller than hundreds of thousands, let alone millions, proposed from Spanish accounts. Yet, recognizing smaller population numbers for the Indigenous Caribbean does not diminish the genocidal consequences of the Spanish invasion, which forever changed the cultural and biological landscape of the Caribbean. Commodore Bethel is right to recognize the significance of Lucayan ancestry for these islands. While we may not be able to change the name of the sea, we can use new technologies to better appreciate the ancient Lucayan people who once called these islands home. a Dr. Kendra Sirak is a Biological Anthropologist and Research Associate in the Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School and Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University; Dr. Bill Keegan is Emeritus Curator of Caribbean Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida); Dr. Betsy Carlson is Senior Archaeologist at Southeastern Archaeological Research (SEARCH, Inc.) in Jonesville, FL; and Dr. Michael Pateman is former Director of the Turks & Caicos National Museum and currently Curator/Lab Director of the AEX Maritime Museum on Grand Bahama. The longest established legal practice in the Turks & Caicos Islands Real Estate Investments & Property Development Immigration, Residency & Business Licensing Company & Commercial Law Trusts & Estate Planning Banking & Insurance 1 Caribbean Place, P.O. Box 97 Leeward Highway, Providenciales Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI Ph: 649 946 4344 • Fax: 649 946 4564 E-Mail: dempsey@tciway.tc Cockburn House, P.O. Box 70 Market Street, Grand Turk Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI Ph: 649 946 2245 • Fax: 649 946 2758 E-Mail: ffdlawco@tciway.tc john redmond associates ltd. architects & designers construction consultants project management p.o.box 21, providenciales, turks & caicos is. tel.: 9464440 cell: 2314569 email: redmond@tciway.tc Times of the Islands Summer 2022 29
Page 1 and 2: TIMES OF THE SAMPLING THE SOUL OF T
Page 4 and 5: contents Departments 9 From the Edi
Page 6: from the editor MARTA MORTON—WWW.
Page 9 and 10: WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS TWICE . . .
Page 11: Building Your Vision, Delivering Ex
Page 14 and 15: TIMES OF THE ISLANDS MANAGING EDITO
Page 16 and 17: Make it sew Early on, women in the
Page 18 and 19: TURKS & CAICOS NATIONAL MUSEUM COLL
Page 21 and 22: eye on the sky Opposite page: Islan
Page 23 and 24: to the coastline. If you live near
Page 25 and 26: talking taíno Opposite page: Advan
Page 27: NEW YORK TIMES Ancient DNA is extra
Page 31 and 32: feature Opposite page: Jamaican fou
Page 33 and 34: Kingston for rum and cokes. They bo
Page 35 and 36: Piloting a bobsled has much in comm
Page 37 and 38: Walkin May2017_Layout 1 5/28/17 5:4
Page 39 and 40: Tal’s Olympic career would span t
Page 41: CHALK SOUND It’s the silence of t
Page 44 and 45: That thought would stay with me rig
Page 46: The intrepid voyagers prepare to fa
Page 49 and 50: The trekkers were met with support
Page 51: We are surprised to see we are not
Page 54 and 55: The first of these Special Reports,
Page 56 and 57: green pages newsletter of the depar
Page 64 and 65: astrolabe newsletter of the Turks &
Page 74 and 75: The TCI has expanded COVID-19 testi
Page 76 and 77: Economy Historically, TCI’s econo
Page 78 and 79:
classified ads Community Fellowship
Page 80:
We’ll guide you to your dream hom
show all

Times of the Islands Summer 2022

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?