Overview

• DNA data published in two Antiquity papers estimate that two seventh-century individuals carried about 20–40% sub-Saharan West African ancestry introduced through their paternal lines.
• The mixed-ancestry cases include an adolescent girl at Updown in Kent and a young man at Worth Matravers in Dorset, both of whom retained Northern European mitochondrial heritage.
• Grave goods and burial treatments indicate these individuals were interred as integrated community members despite differing social statuses.
• Researchers date the African ancestors’ departure from West Africa to the mid-6th through early-7th centuries and suggest Mediterranean-Byzantine trade routes as the most plausible conduit.
• These findings, drawn from a small sample, highlight improved ancient DNA methodologies and challenge assumptions about the demographic diversity of early medieval England.