Society and Culture Research

DNA shows ‘Persian Princes’ helped found medieval African trading culture

Merchants from abroad married into powerful local families on the Swahili coast

Science Magazine/Nature - 29 March 2023

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These articles explain the emergence of the Swahili maritime trading culture on the Indian Ocean coast of East Africa. Both Nature and Science have review articles explaining the significance of the academic paper.  Anthropoligy alumnus Elizabeth Sawchuk is one of the co-authors of the study.

Science Magazine:  https://www.science.org/content/article/dna-shows-persian-princes-helped-found-medieval-african-trading-culture

Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00941-1

Academic article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05754-w