eprintid: 10063792
rev_number: 89
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/06/37/92
datestamp: 2018-12-11 11:47:12
lastmod: 2021-10-07 22:00:55
status_changed: 2019-01-22 17:10:37
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: van Dorp, L
creators_name: Lowes, S
creators_name: Weigel, L
creators_name: Ansari-Pour, N
creators_name: López, S
creators_name: Mendoza-Revilla, J
creators_name: Robinson, JA
creators_name: Henrich, J
creators_name: Thomas, MG
creators_name: Nunn, N
creators_name: Hellenthal, GR
title: Genetic legacy of state centralization in the Kuba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C08
divisions: D09
divisions: F99
divisions: C10
keywords: population genetics, demographic inference, anthropology, history
note: © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. This open access article is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
abstract: Few phenomena have had as profound or long-lasting consequences in human history as the emergence of large-scale centralized states in the place of smaller scale and more local societies. This study examines a fundamental, and yet unexplored, consequence of state formation: its genetic legacy. We studied the genetic impact of state centralization during the formation of the eminent precolonial Kuba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the 17th century. We analyzed genome-wide data from over 690 individuals sampled from 27 different ethnic groups from the Kasai Central Province of the DRC. By comparing genetic patterns in the present-day Kuba, whose ancestors were part of the Kuba Kingdom, with those in neighboring non-Kuba groups, we show that the Kuba today are more genetically diverse and more similar to other groups in the region than expected, consistent with the historical unification of distinct subgroups during state centralization. We also found evidence of genetic mixing dating to the time of the Kingdom at its most prominent. Using this unique dataset, we characterize the genetic history of the Kasai Central Province and describe the historic late wave of migrations into the region that contributed to a Bantu-like ancestry component found across large parts of Africa today. Taken together, we show the power of genetics to evidence events of sociopolitical importance and highlight how DNA can be used to better understand the behaviors of both people and institutions in the past.
date: 2019-01-08
date_type: published
publisher: National Academy of Sciences
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811211115
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
article_type_text: Journal Article
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1607741
doi: 10.1073/pnas.1811211115
language_elements: English
lyricists_name: Hellenthal, Garrett
lyricists_name: Lopez, Saioa
lyricists_name: Thomas, Mark
lyricists_name: van Dorp, Lucy
lyricists_id: GRHEL40
lyricists_id: SLOPE17
lyricists_id: MTHOM52
lyricists_id: VANDO45
actors_name: Waragoda Vitharana, Nimal
actors_id: NWARR44
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
volume: 116
number: 2
pagerange: 593-598
issn: 0027-8424
citation:        van Dorp, L;    Lowes, S;    Weigel, L;    Ansari-Pour, N;    López, S;    Mendoza-Revilla, J;    Robinson, JA;                 ... Hellenthal, GR; + view all <#>        van Dorp, L;  Lowes, S;  Weigel, L;  Ansari-Pour, N;  López, S;  Mendoza-Revilla, J;  Robinson, JA;  Henrich, J;  Thomas, MG;  Nunn, N;  Hellenthal, GR;   - view fewer <#>    (2019)    Genetic legacy of state centralization in the Kuba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.                   Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 116  (2)   pp. 593-598.    10.1073/pnas.1811211115 <https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1811211115>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10063792/1/Hellenthal_The%20Genetic%20Legacy%20of%20State%20Centralization%20in%20the%20Kuba%20Kingdom%20of%20the%20Democratic%20Republic%20of%20the%20Congo_VoR.pdf