Genetic study details complex ancestry of East Africa's Swahili people

Researchers said on Wednesday they examined the DNA of 80 people from five sites in Kenya and Tanzania dating to about 1250 to 1800 AD. More than half of the genetic input in many of them traced to female ancestors from Africa's east coast while a significant contribution also came from Asia, of which about 90% came from men from Persia - modern Iran - and 10% from India.

The medieval Swahili people in city-states such as Mombasa and Zanzibar exported goods from the African interior including ivory, gold, ebony and sandalwood, as well as slaves, to destinations across the Indian Ocean. They also were among the first practitioners of Islam among sub-Saharan people. People of African and Asian origins began to mix in the region by around 1000 AD, the study showed. The genetic findings reflected the Swahili people's cosmopolitan nature. Their Swahili language is of African origin, the predominant religion of Islam was imported from the Middle East and the cuisine shows Indian and the Middle Eastern influences.

"The genetic data provides new information that challenges previous colonial assumptions about the origins of Swahili people and their advances being attributed to foreigners," Brielle said.

If you look impartially? You will see that the eastern African coast is linked to ancient Yemen

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