Centuries-old DNA helps identify origins of slave skeletons found in Caribbean
Monday, March 9, 2015 - 14:20
in Paleontology & Archaeology
More than 300 years ago, three African-born slaves died on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. No written records memorialized their fate, and their names and precise ethnic background remained a mystery. For centuries, their skeletons were subjected to the hot, wet weather of the tropical island until they were unearthed in 2010 during a construction project in the Zoutsteeg area of the capital city of Philipsburg.