scholarly journals African origin for Madagascan dogs revealed by mtDNA analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 140552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arman Ardalan ◽  
Mattias C. R. Oskarsson ◽  
Barbara van Asch ◽  
Elisabeth Rabakonandriania ◽  
Peter Savolainen
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Domestic Animal ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Neolithic Culture ◽  
Control Region Sequences ◽  
Ancient Times ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Cultural Origins ◽  
Genetic Contributions

Madagascar was one of the last major land masses to be inhabited by humans. It was initially colonized by Austronesian speaking Indonesians 1500–2000 years ago, but subsequent migration from Africa has resulted in approximately equal genetic contributions from Indonesia and Africa, and the material culture has mainly African influences. The dog, along with the pig and the chicken, was part of the Austronesian Neolithic culture, and was furthermore the only domestic animal to accompany humans to every continent in ancient times. To illuminate Madagascan cultural origins and track the initial worldwide dispersal of dogs, we here investigated the ancestry of Madagascan dogs. We analysed mtDNA control region sequences in dogs from Madagascar ( n =145) and compared it with that from potential ancestral populations in Island Southeast Asia ( n =219) and sub-Saharan Africa ( n =493). We found that 90% of the Madagascan dogs carried a haplotype that was also present in sub-Saharan Africa and that the remaining lineages could all be attributed to a likely origin in Africa. By contrast, only 26% of Madagascan dogs shared haplotypes with Indonesian dogs, and one haplotype typical for Austronesian dogs, carried by more than 40% of Indonesian and Polynesian dogs, was absent among the Madagascan dogs. Thus, in contrast to the human population, Madagascan dogs seem to trace their origin entirely from Africa. These results suggest that dogs were not brought to Madagascar by the initial Austronesian speaking colonizers on their transoceanic voyage, but were introduced at a later stage, together with human migration and cultural influence from Africa.

The Archaeology of Islamisation in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Comparative Study

Islamisation ◽  
2017 ◽  
pp. 244-274
Author(s):  
Timothy Insoll
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Settlement Patterns ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Funerary Practices ◽  
New Markets ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Ways Of Life

The archaeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa is remarkably diverse in relation to its material components, its geographical and chronological frameworks, and the life ways that were influenced by Islam, from settled and nomadic populations, peasants and kings, to merchants, farmers, warriors and townspeople. Islamisation processes were equally varied involving, for example, trade, proselytisation, jihad and prestige. Economically, new markets might be reached. Politically, the adoption of Arabic, of new forms of administration and of literacy could have a significant impact. Socially, material culture and ways of life could alter as manifest via diet and funerary practices, house types and settlement patterns. It is not possible to adequately summarise this diversity here.1 Instead emphasis will be placed upon selectively considering the evidence in order to indicate what archaeology can tell us about Islamisation processes in Africa, and to demonstrate the value and utility of archaeology for examining this Islamisation

Vernacular architecture in eastern Senegal: Chaînes opératoires and technical choices

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 348-378
Author(s):  
Thomas Pelmoine ◽  
Anne Mayor
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Construction Techniques ◽  
Heritage Studies ◽  
Environmental Adaptations ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Linguistic Groups

Architecture is an important component of cultural identity, but knowledge regarding construction techniques using local materials is gradually disappearing, and this subject has rarely been studied in sub-Saharan Africa. This ethno-archaeological study of current vernacular architecture and its evolution during the past three centuries in eastern Senegal therefore brings innovative results that are interesting on different levels. In relation to West Africa, the authors aim to provide new knowledge useful for archaeologists lacking references for interpreting past remains, as well as an archive for historical and heritage studies. More widely, the study constitutes a reference for the description of various mud-building techniques and an attempt to understand the mechanisms explaining their transformations, which should concern all scientists interested in vernacular architecture, in Africa and beyond. More precisely, this article accounts for the variability of techniques used for constructing walls and roofs of dwellings in the Faleme valley among different ethno-linguistic groups, while considering the environmental, cultural and socio-economic factors at play. The authors’ methodology is based on a description of the chaînes opératoires of construction, interviews, mapping and statistical analysis. The patterns observed facilitate a discussion on the evolution of techniques, environmental adaptations, the transfer of knowledge and the role of history in material culture dynamics.

The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Archaeology

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Islamic Art ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Islamic Archaeology ◽  
First Time

Born from the fields of Islamic art and architectural history, the archaeological study of the Islamic societies is a relatively young discipline. With its roots in the colonial periods of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its rapid development since the 1980s warrants a reevaluation of where the field stands today. This Handbook represents for the first time a survey of Islamic archaeology on a global scale, describing its disciplinary development and offering candid critiques of the state of the field today in the Central Islamic Lands, the Islamic West, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. The international contributors to the volume address such themes as the timing and process of Islamization, the problems of periodization and regionalism in material culture, cities and countryside, cultural hybridity, cultural and religious diversity, natural resource management, international trade in the later historical periods, and migration. Critical assessments of the ways in which archaeologists today engage with Islamic cultural heritage and local communities closes the volume, highlighting the ethical issues related to studying living cultures and religions.

scholarly journals Occurrence of haemoparasites in cattle in Monduli district, northern Tanzania

2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isihaka J. Haji ◽  
Imna Malele ◽  
Boniface Namangala
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Animal ◽  
Molecular Techniques ◽  
Babesia Bovis ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Tsetse Flies ◽  
Indigenous Cattle ◽  
Human Interface ◽  
Northern Tanzania ◽  
Monduli District ◽  
Sub Saharan

Haemoparasite infections are among the most economically important cattle diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study investigated the occurrence of haemoparasites in 295 indigenous cattle from five villages (Mswakini, Lake Manyara, Naitolia, Makuyuni and Nanja) of the Monduli district, a wildlife-domestic animal-human interface area in northern Tanzania. The data showed that the overall occurrence of haemoparasites in the sampled cattle was 12.5% (95% CI: 8.7% – 16.3%), involving single and mixed infections with Theileria parva, Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis, Trypanosoma vivax and Trypanosoma brucei. The highest haemoparasite occurrence was recorded in Lake Manyara (18.3%; 95% CI: 8.5% – 28.1%), and the lowest was recorded in Nanja (6.5%; 95% CI: 0.4% – 12.6%). This preliminary study, furthermore, provided evidence of the possible arthropod vectors (ticks and tsetse flies) that may be involved in the transmission of haemoparasites to cattle in the Monduli district. It is envisaged that this survey will stimulate more studies to determine the prevalence of haemoparasites in livestock by using more sensitive molecular techniques.

Molecular epidemiology and phylogeography of Schistosoma mansoni around Lake Victoria

Parasitology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (13) ◽  
pp. 1937-1949 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. STANDLEY ◽  
N. B. KABATEREINE ◽  
C. N. LANGE ◽  
N. J. S. LWAMBO ◽  
J. R. STOTHARD
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Schistosoma Mansoni ◽  
Molecular Epidemiology ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Human Migration ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Major Public Health Problem ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Coi Sequences

SUMMARYIntestinal schistosomiasis continues to be a major public health problem in sub-Saharan Africa, and is endemic in communities around Lake Victoria. Interest is growing in the molecular evolution and population genetic structure of Schistosoma mansoni and we describe a detailed analysis of the molecular epidemiology and phylogeography of S. mansoni from Lake Victoria. In total, 388 cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) sequences were obtained from 25 sites along the Ugandan, Tanzanian and Kenyan shorelines of Lake Victoria, and 122 unique barcodes were identified; 9 corresponded to previously discovered barcodes from Lakes Victoria and Albert. A subset of the data, composed of COI sequences from miracidia from 10 individual children, was used for population genetics analyses; these results were corroborated by microsatellite analysis of 4 isolates of lab-passaged adult worms. Overall, 12 barcodes were found to be shared across all 3 countries, whereas the majority occurred singly and were locally restricted. The population genetics analyses were in agreement in revealing high diversity at the level of the human host and negligible population structuring by location. The lack of correlation between genetic distance and geographical distance in these data may be attributed to the confounding influence of high intra-individual diversity as well as human migration between communities.

scholarly journals Parasite Population Genetic Contributions to the Schistosomiasis Consortium for Operational Research and Evaluation within Sub-Saharan Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 103 (1_Suppl) ◽  
pp. 80-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne P. Webster ◽  
Maria Inês Neves ◽  
Bonnie L. Webster ◽  
Tom Pennance ◽  
Muriel Rabone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetic ◽  
Operational Research ◽  
Parasite Population ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Genetic Contributions

scholarly journals Novel, Potentially Zoonotic Paramyxoviruses from the African Straw-Colored Fruit Bat Eidolon helvum

2012 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 1348-1358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate S. Baker ◽  
Shawn Todd ◽  
Glenn A. Marsh ◽  
Gary Crameri ◽  
Jennifer Barr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Horizontal Transmission ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Domestic Animal ◽  
Human Infection ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Phylogenetic Cluster ◽  
Fruit Bat ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
Eidolon Helvum

ABSTRACTBats carry a variety of paramyxoviruses that impact human and domestic animal health when spillover occurs. Recent studies have shown a great diversity of paramyxoviruses in an urban-roosting population of straw-colored fruit bats in Ghana. Here, we investigate this further through virus isolation and describe two novel rubulaviruses: Achimota virus 1 (AchPV1) and Achimota virus 2 (AchPV2). The viruses form a phylogenetic cluster with each other and other bat-derived rubulaviruses, such as Tuhoko viruses, Menangle virus, and Tioman virus. We developed AchPV1- and AchPV2-specific serological assays and found evidence of infection with both viruses inEidolon helvumacross sub-Saharan Africa and on islands in the Gulf of Guinea. Longitudinal sampling ofE. helvumindicates virus persistence within fruit bat populations and suggests spread of AchPVs via horizontal transmission. We also detected possible serological evidence of human infection with AchPV2 in Ghana and Tanzania. It is likely that clinically significant zoonotic spillover of chiropteran paramyxoviruses could be missed throughout much of Africa where health surveillance and diagnostics are poor and comorbidities, such as infection with HIV orPlasmodiumsp., are common.

Drink Deep, or Taste Not: Thoughts on the Use of Early European Records in the Study of African Material Culture

1994 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 349-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Jones
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Road ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
The One ◽  
Source Of Information ◽  
Shed Light

In African studies the potential for collaboration between students of history and those of material culture or art has long been recognized. On the one hand, items of material culture, both ancient and modern, can shed light on aspects of the past which remain obscure in written and oral sources; on the other, in order to see a material culture (or parts of it) in perspective, we need to study the historical background of the area concerned. The contribution of material culture to historical knowledge of sub-Saharan Africa has received considerable attention; but the same can hardly be said of the use of historical sources in understanding material culture.This does not mean that such sources have been neglected. Most of them certainly were in the colonial and immediate post-colonial periods, but things have improved. In many recent books, articles, and exhibitions devoted to Africa's material culture, considerable use has been made of the writings and engravings of early European visitors. Scholars are delighted if they can discover old records of anything resembling the objects that are today found either in museums or still in use in Africa. Indeed, it has become almost obligatory to search old books for textual and visual material. No historian can object to this interest in early sources. Yet looking at what has been published recently, one wonders whether we have nearly reached the end of the road. The same classic travelers' accounts are cited again and again (even the same passages!), and it is beginning to look as if this source of information will soon run dry. What, if anything, remains to be done?

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