Rick Dean
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hamps..._burial_ground/
Testing confirms African-American burial ground
April 17, 2004
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- DNA testing has confirmed that bodies uncovered at a grave site are African-American and confirmed a genetic trait that will make it easier to identify Africans, a researcher said.
Last fall, crews digging a new sewer line found 13 coffins with human remains.
Samples from four coffins were sent to the Boston University School of Medicine, where Dr. Bruce Jackson works on the DN
African-American Roots Project, trying to link African-Americans to their ancestral heritage.
The tests backed up historical research which found the site on city maps dating back to 1705 identified
as
a "Negro Burying Ground."
Jackson said scientis
ts found what is known as a "deletion" of two base sequences in the DNA, which is found in about 95 percent of African-Americans and Caribbean blacks.
"It implies that the mutation existed among Africans even two or three centuries ago," he said. "Its a true marker. What we see in modern African-Americans is a marker that has been passed down. Its going to make it a lot easier to identify Africans now."
State Archaeologist d*ck Boisvert said there is still a slight chance there might be a relative of a local African-American buried in the grave, but it is "lottery odds."
The next task would be to work with the African-American community and the city to see what should be done w
ith the remains, Boisvert said.
"Portsmouth, as a community, will want to acknowledge the burial ground so that we may pay respect through the generations, and whether that is throug
h a
memo
rial or som
e other means is yet to be worked out," City Manager John Bohenko said.
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hamps..._burial_ground/
Testing confirms African-American burial ground
April 17, 2004
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- DNA testing has confirmed that bodies uncovered at a grave site are African-American and confirmed a genetic trait that will make it easier to identify Africans, a researcher said.
Last fall, crews digging a new sewer line found 13 coffins with human remains.
Samples from four coffins were sent to the Boston University School of Medicine, where Dr. Bruce Jackson works on the DN
African-American Roots Project, trying to link African-Americans to their ancestral heritage.
The tests backed up historical research which found the site on city maps dating back to 1705 identified
as
a "Negro Burying Ground."
Jackson said scientis
ts found what is known as a "deletion" of two base sequences in the DNA, which is found in about 95 percent of African-Americans and Caribbean blacks.
"It implies that the mutation existed among Africans even two or three centuries ago," he said. "Its a true marker. What we see in modern African-Americans is a marker that has been passed down. Its going to make it a lot easier to identify Africans now."
State Archaeologist d*ck Boisvert said there is still a slight chance there might be a relative of a local African-American buried in the grave, but it is "lottery odds."
The next task would be to work with the African-American community and the city to see what should be done w
ith the remains, Boisvert said.
"Portsmouth, as a community, will want to acknowledge the burial ground so that we may pay respect through the generations, and whether that is throug
h a
memo
rial or som
e other means is yet to be worked out," City Manager John Bohenko said.
------