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The peoples of the Swahili coast of eastern Africa established a literate urban culture by the second millennium CE. They traded across eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean and were among the first sub-Saharan practitioners of Islam. An open question has been the extent to which these early interactions between Africans and non-Africans were accompanied by genetic admixture. We report genome-wide ancient DNA from 80 individuals in five medieval and early modern (1300-1800 CE) coastal towns, as well as people from an inland town postdating 1650 CE. Over half of the ancestry of most coastal individuals came from African ancestors; these African ancestors were primarily female. A slightly smaller proportion of ancestry was from Asia. This Asian component was approximately eighty to ninety percent from Near Eastern males and ten to twenty percent from Indian females. Peoples of African and Asian origins began to mix by around 1000 CE, a time when archaeological evidence documents changes on the coast that are often interpreted as marking the large-scale adoption of Islam. Before roughly 1500 CE, the Near Eastern ancestry detected in the individuals was mainly Persian-related, consistent with the narrative of the Kilwa Chronicle, the oldest history told by the Swahili themselves. After this time, the sources of Near Eastern ancestry became increasingly Arabian, consistent with the archaeological and historical evidence of growing interactions between the Swahili coast and parts of southern Arabia. Subsequent interactions of Swahili coast peoples with other Asian and African groups further changed the ancestry of present-day peoples relative to the ancient individuals we sequenced, highlighting how Swahili genetic legacies can be more clearly understood with ancient DNA.

International audience; Only 400 km off the coast of East Africa, the island of Madagascar is one of the last large land masses to have been colonized by humans. While many questions surround the human occupation of Madagascar, recent studies raise the question of human impact on endemic biodiversity and landscape transformation. Previous genetic and linguistic analyses have shown that the Malagasy population has emerged from an admixture that happened during the last millennium, between Bantu-speaking African populations and Austronesianspeaking Asian populations. By studying the sharing of chromosome segments between individuals (IBD determination), local ancestry information and simulated genetic data, we inferred that the Malagasy ancestral Asian population was isolated for more than 1000 years with an effective size of just a few hundred individuals. This isolation ended around 1000 years before present (BP) by admixture with a small African population. Around the admixture time, there was a rapid demographic expansion due to intrinsic population growth of the newly admixed population, which coincides with extensive changes in Madagascar’s landscape and the extinction of all endemic large-bodied vertebrates. Therefore, our approach can provide new insights into past human demography and associated impacts on ecosystems

International audience; Although situated ∼400 km from the east coast of Africa, Madagascar exhibits cultural, linguistic, and genetic traits from both Southeast Asia and Eastern Africa. The settlement history remains contentious; we therefore used a grid-based approach to sample at high resolution the genomic diversity (including maternal lineages, paternal lineages, and genome-wide data) across 257 villages and 2,704 Malagasy individuals. We find a common Bantu and Austronesian descent for all Malagasy individuals with a limited paternal contribution from Europe and the Middle East. Admixture and demographic growth happened recently, suggesting a rapid settlement of Madagascar during the last millennium. However, the distribution of African and Asian ancestry across the island reveals that the admixture was sex biased and happened heterogeneously across Madagascar, suggesting independent colonization of Madagascar from Africa and Asia rather than settlement by an already admixed population. In addition, there are geographic influences on the present genomic diversity, independent of the admixture, showing that a few centuries is sufficient to produce detectable genetic structure in human populations.

Migrations and interactions between Madagascar and the eastern Africa, 500 BC – 1000 AD: : the archeological perspective

Robert (Bob) Earl Dewar, known for his research and writing on the ecology and early human inhabitants of Madagascar, died in his home in Middle Haddam, Connecticut, on 8 April 2013.Bob's dissertat...

International audience; Linguistic and cultural evidence suggest that Madagascar was the final point of two major dispersals of Austronesian- and Bantu-speaking populations. Today, the Mikea are described as the last-known Malagasy population reported to be still practicing a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. It is unclear, however, whether the Mikea descend from a remnant population that existed before the arrival of Austronesian and Bantu agriculturalists or whether it is only their lifestyle that separates them from the other contemporary populations of South Madagascar. To address these questions we have performed a genome-wide analysis of >700,000 SNP markers on 21 Mikea, 24 Vezo, and 24 Temoro individuals, together with 50 individuals from Bajo and Lebbo populations from Indonesia. Our analyses of these data in the context of data available from other Southeast Asian and African populations reveal that all three Malagasy populations are derived from the same admixture event involving Austronesian and Bantu sources. In contrast to the fact that most of the vocabulary of the Malagasy speakers is derived from the Barito group of the Austronesian language family, we observe that only one-third of their genetic ancestry is related to the populations of the Java-Kalimantan-Sulawesi area. Because no additional ancestry components distinctive for the Mikea were found, it is likely that they have adopted their hunter-gatherer way of life through cultural reversion, and selection signals suggest a genetic adaptation to their new lifestyle.

A major necropolis, discovered in the late 19th century at Vohemar, is located on a peninsula along the east coast of northern Madagascar. Excavations in the past century suggest that a prosperous civilization — the Rasikajy — buried their dead at this cemetery. The civilization seems to have disappeared from the region probably sometime in the 16th century. We discuss the regional geographical and geological context of the archaeological site at Vohemar in an attempt to better understand the collapse of the Rasikajy civilization. Furthermore, we discuss the mineral resources of northern Madagascar and show that raw materials such as chlorite-schist, pure quartz, iron, copper, silver and gold — used in the production of burial objects unearthed from the necropolis — occur in the hinterland of Vohemar. This suggests that the Rasikajy did not only produce “chlorite-schist” objects from material obtained at regional quarries, but possibly also manufactured iron, copper, gold, silver, bronze and quartz objects from raw materials mined in the region. Historical documents of the late 18th century suggest that the port of Vohemar was destroyed at some time in the past by a flooding event, and we tentatively speculate that this natural disaster caused the disappearance of the Rasikajy civilization and possibly also led to submergence of land north of the present-day town. It is clear, however, that more detailed archaeological and geological studies are necessary to elucidate the collapse of the Rasikajy civilisation. Une importante nécropole, découverte à la fin du xixe siècle à Vohémar, est située sur une péninsule le long de la côte est du nord de Madagascar. Les fouilles du siècle passé suggèrent une civilisation prospère, les Rasikajy y enterraient leurs morts. La civilisation semble avoir disparu de la région sans doute dans le courant du xvie siècle. Nous étudierons le contexte régional pour mieux comprendre l’effondrement de la civilisation Rasikajy. Par ailleurs, nous évaluons les ressources en minerais du nord de Madagascar et montrons que le chloritoschiste, le quartz, le fer, le cuivre et l’or se trouvent dans l’arrière-pays de Vohémar. Cela suggère que les Rasikajy ne produisaient pas seulement des objets en chloritoschiste matière obtenue dans les carrières régionales, mais éventuellement aussi du fer, cuivre, or, bronze et des objets en quartz à partir de matériaux bruts extraits dans la région. Il n’existe pas de mine d’argent dans le nord de Madagascar, et il est probable que des objets en argent ont été importés ou fabriqués à partir de matériaux importés. Les documents historiques de la fin du xviiie siècle suggèrent que le port de Vohémar a été détruit à un moment donné dans le passé par une inondation, et nous émettons provisoirement l’hypothèse que cette catastrophe naturelle a causé la disparition de la civilisation Rasikajy et éventuellement mené à la submersion des terres du Nord de la ville actuelle. Il est clair, cependant, qu’une étude plus détaillée des données archéologiques et géologiques est nécessaire pour élucider l’effondrement de la civilisation Rasikajy.

Archaeological excavations in northern Madagascar during the first half of the 20th century have revealed the presence of a former prosperous civilisation known as the Rasikajy civilisation. Little is known about the origin of this civilisation and how and when they first arrived in Madagascar. The most striking evidence for the Rasikajy civilisation comes from excavations at a necropolis in Vohemar located along the northeast coast, where more than 600 tombs containing spectacular objects were unearthed in the 1940s (Vernier & Millot 1971). The findings in the tombs included, amongst others, Chinese ceramics, silver and gold jewellery, iron weapons, glassware, bronze mirrors and chlorite-schist objects (ibid.). The latter objects were produced from chlorite schist mined at quarries in northern and eastern Madagascar and there is evidence that jewellery and iron objects were also produced by the Rasikajy from locally available raw material. Chlorite-schist objects have not only been found in coastal sites in Madagascar, but also in the Comores and eastern Africa suggesting an active engagement of the Rasikajy in western Indian Ocean trade.Our re-evaluation of published literature on archaeological sites in northern Madagascar indicates that the majority of Chinese ceramics found in the tombs at Vohemar dates from the 15th and first half of the 16th century with some dating back to the 14th century or earlier. Our comparative analysis of burial objects at Vohemar shows that locally produced chlorite-schist tripod vessels exhibit remarkable resemblances to ancient Chinese bronze ritual tripod vessels. The objects encountered in the tombs and their positions with respect to the body indicate that the Rasikajy practiced burial rites similar to those practised in the past in China. Our re-evaluation of the literature suggests that communities with Chinese roots were present in northeastern Madagascar prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in 1500 and participated in the Indian Ocean trade network. The demise of the Rasikajy civilisation seems to have occurred in the second half of the 16th century when production of chlorite-schist objects ceased. It is still unclear why this occurred. Les fouilles archéologiques dans le nord de Madagascar durant la première moitié du xxe siècle ont révélé la présence d’une civilisation ancienne prospère connue sous le nom de civilisation Rasikajy. On sait peu de choses sur leur origine, comment et quand ils sont arrivés à Madagascar. La preuve la plus évidente de la civilisation Rasikajy provient des fouilles de la nécropole de Vohéar, située le long de la côte nord-est, où plus de 600 tombes contenant des objets extraordinaires ont été découvertes dans les années 1940.Les vestiges relevés dans ces tombes comprenaient, entre autres, des céramique chinoises, de l’argenterie et des bijous en or, des armes de fer, verrerie, miroirs en bronze et des objets en chloritoschiste. Des objets tardifs ont été fabriqués à partir de schiste à chlorite exploité dans les carrières dans le nord-est de Madagascar et il est prouvé que les bijoux et les objets en fer ont été également produits par les Rasikajy à partir des matières premières disponibles localement. Des objets en chloritoschiste ont non seulement été trouvés dans les sites côtiers de Madagascar mais aussi aux Comores et en Afrique orientale, suggérant une participation active des Rasikajy dans le commerce de l’océan Indien occidental.Notre réévaluation de la littérature publiée sur les sites archéologiques dans le nord de Madagascar indique que la majorité des céramiques chinoises trouvées dans les tombes de Vohémar sont à dater du xve siècle et de la première moitié du xvie siècle, avec quelques objets datant du xive siècle ou encore plus tôt. Notre analyse comparative des objets de la sépulture de Vohémar montre que la production des marmites tripodes en chloritoschiste présente des ressemblances remarquables avec les anciennes vaisselles rituelles tripodes en bronze des Chinois. Les objets relevés dans les tombes et leurs positions par rapport au corps indiquent que les Rasikajy pratiquaient des rites funéraires semblables à ceux effectués dans le passé en Chine. Notre réévaluation de la littérature suggère que des communautés ayant des racines chinoises étaient présentes dans le nord de Madagascar avant l’arrivée des premiers Européens en 1500 et ont participé au réseau de commerce de l’océan Indien.La disparition de la civilisation Rasikajy semble avoir eu lieu dans la seconde moitié du xvie siècle lorsque la production d’objets en chloritochiste a cessé. On ignore encore pourquoi cela s’est produit.

In the dry forest of southern Madagascar, a region of global conservation priority, formally protected areas are nearly totally absent. We illustrate how the continued existence of unique forest habitats in the Androy region is directly dependent on informal institutions, taboos, regulating human behavior. Qualitative interviews to map and analyze the social mechanisms underlying forest protection have been combined with vegetation analyses of species diversity and composition. Of 188 forest patches, 93% were classified as protected, and in Southern Androy all remaining forest patches larger than 5 ha were protected. Eight different types of forests, with a gradient of social fencing from open access to almost complete entry prohibitions, were identified. Transgressions were well enforced with strong sanctions of significant economic as well as religious importance. Analyses of species diversity between protected and unprotected forests were complicated because of size differences and access restrictions. However, since, for example, in southern Androy >90% of the total remaining forest cover is protected through taboos, these informal institutions represent an important, and presently the only, mechanism for conservation of the highly endemic forest species. We conclude that social aspects, such as local beliefs and legitimate sanctioning systems, need to be analyzed and incorporated along with biodiversity studies for successful conservation.

On the night of 6 November 1995, the palace of the kings and queens of Madagascar (ROVA) (Fig. 1) was burned down. In order to coordinate the restoration activities, the government of Madagascar has created the DNOR, the National Directory of the ROVA project. This National Di rectory consists of four national experts and autonomously directs all the activities concerning the restoration of the ROVA, a royal site comprising several palaces made of wood, of which the principal palace has stone foun dations, while another is entirely made of stone. Since its official creation, the DNOR team has undertaken and coordinated a number of activities: a detailed inventory has been compiled of the objects which survived the fire (20% of the collection); the excavations on the site itself have been completed; and a rough draft of the preliminary outline of the architectural restoration plans and the consolidation process of the main building have been started, as has the reconstruction of the temple and the construction of a ramp permitting vehicle access to the sites. All these activities were undertaken only after a "resacrilization" of the site through a traditional ceremony organized at the royal tombs which asked for the benediction and protection of the ancestors. All the sketches of the buildings to be restored have been made. The potential museological scenarios are still under discussion. In the meantime, and taking into consideration the sacredness of this historical monument, it is necessary to collect all available information before a proposal for the function, as well as the final destiny of the restored site, can be formulated.

The genetic basis of androstenone anosmia has been well studied due to androstenone's putative role as a human sex pheromone and its presence in pork meat. Polymorphisms have been identified on the olfactory receptor gene OR7D4, which significantly affect perception of androstenone pleasantness and intensity in several Western populations. This study aims to investigate androstenone sensitivity and the influence of OR7D4 polymorphisms in non-Western populations. Androstenone perception was tested in 132 individuals from Madagascar using a double three-alternative choice test with two concentrations of androstenone (0.17 and 1.7 µg/ml). We found that Malagasy populations described this molecule in a similar way to European populations, and 21% of the sample was not able to smell androstenone. In contrast to previous studies, there was no significant evidence of the influence of rs61729907: C>T (R88W) and rs5020278: C>T polymorphisms (T133M) on androstenone sensitivity in Malagasy populations. We found, however, a significant effect of the polymorphism rs61732668 (P79L) and a significant difference in androstenone perception between populations in different locations across Madagascar. This study indicates the existence of population-specific factors in androstenone sensitivity, suggesting that population history has a role in shaping an individual's smell and flavor preferences and food preferences in general.

3. G. Heurtebize dan J.A. Rakotoarisoa (Université de Madagascar) dengan teliti membeberkan berbagai proses dalam pembuatan anyaman "rabanes" di suatu daerah barat-laut Tanah Malagasi dimana masih dipertahankan proses kuna yang mengingatkan kita pada "ikat" di daerah Indonesia., 3. G. Heurtebize and J.A. Rakotoarisoa (University of Madagascar) describe in detail the various stages of the making of "Rabanes" in a region N.W. of Madagascar, where an ancient process which is not unlike the "ikat" found in Indonesia has been preserved., 3. G. Heurtebize et J.A. Rakotoarisoa (Université de Tananarive) décrivent en détail les diverses étapes de la fabrication des rabanes dans une région du Nord-ouest de Madagascar, où s'est maintenu un antique procédé qui rappelle Vikat du monde indonésien., Heurtebize G., Rakotoarisoa J. A. Note sur la confection des tissus de type ikat à Madagascar. In: Archipel, volume 8, 1974. pp. 67-81.

Through this monograph of Acoua’s archaeological sites - a Kibushi kimaore speaking village located in the northwest of Grande Terre - this research proposes to study the XIIth-XVIth centuries period, in Mayotte. This period is characterized by important cultural, religious and political changes leading to the gradual establishment of a stratified and Islamized society. It will be question here, through the themes explored by our archaeological study (funerary practices, evolutions of material culture, integration in the Indian Ocean trading networks), to determine the cultural affiliations and processes that have contributed to shaping Mayotte’s ancient society, an island whose complex settlement, characteristic of cultures known as "fringes" - according to the expression popularized in this part of the world by Ottino - is located at the meeting of meany great cultural areas: African Bantou world, Malagasy world and Arab-Persian world, hoisting this island of the Comorian archipelago to the rank of true cultural, commercial and migratory interface between Africa and Madagascar : a "hub and microcosm of the Indian Ocean", to use the expression of Claude Allibert., Au travers d’une monographie des sites archéologiques d’Acoua, village de parler kibushi kimaore situé au nord-ouest de Grande Terre, cette recherche propose d’étudier la période des XIIe-XVIe siècles à Mayotte. Cette période est caractérisée par d’importants changements culturels, religieux et politiques conduisant à l’instauration progressive d’une société stratifiée et islamisée. Il sera notamment question, au travers des thématiques explorées par notre étude archéologique (pratiques funéraires, évolutions de la culture matérielle, intégration dans les réseaux marchands de l’océan Indien), de déterminer les filiations et processus culturels qui ont contribué à façonner la société ancienne de Mayotte, île dont le peuplement complexe, caractéristique des cultures dites « de franges », selon l’expression popularisée dans cette partie du monde par Paul Ottino, est située à la rencontre de grandes aires culturelles : monde africain bantou, monde malgache et monde arabo-persan, hissant cette île de l’archipel comorien au rang de véritable interface culturelle, commerciale et migratoire entre l’Afrique et Madagascar, « plaque tournante et microcosme de l’océan Indien » pour reprendre l’expression de Claude Allibert.

The geographical position of the comoros, has enabled to host several migrations: Bantu, Austronesian, Proto-Malagasy, Arabo-Persian. These migrants had brought their respective beliefs and cultures. As a testimony of this civilization:: the social importance of the Mwalimu, the existence of possession seances , the survival of Djinn spirit cult, the ancestors cult and devotoion to nature. Trimba at Nyumakele and Nkoma at Ouani (agrarian festival and / or rites of protection), Mudandra (spirit dance) at the village of Ouzini and Mro-Maji organized inside a sacred cave are part of the pre-Islamic rites in Anjouan than the cults of the sacred eels "Mwana-mroni". These rites are noticed in the areas inhabited by the indigenous "Wamatsaha". Some of these practices are performed in sacred places called "Ziara". In conclusion, we have shown that the rise of the "Islamists" also called "Djawula" risks to destroy forever these ancestral practices., La position géographique des Comores, lui a permis d’accueillir plusieurs migrations : Bantou, Austronésien, Proto-Malgache, Arabo-Persan. Ces migrants avaient apporté leur croyance et leur culture respective. Comme témoignage de cette civilisation : l’importance sociale des mwalimu, l’existence des séances de possession, la survivance du culte des esprits Djinns, les cultes des ancêtres et cultes de la nature. Trimba à Nyumakele et Nkoma à Ouani (fête agraire et/ou rites de protection), Mudandra (danse des esprits) au village de Ouzini et Mro-Maji organisée à l’intérieur d’une grotte sacrée font partie des rites pré-islamiques à Anjouan ainsi que les cultes des anguilles sacrée « Mwana-Mroni ». Ces rites s’observent dans les régions habitées par les autochtones « Wamatsaha ». Certains de ces pratiques s’exécutent dans des lieux sacrés appelés « Ziara ». En conclusion, nous avons montré que la montée des « islamistes » appelés aussi « Djawula » risque de faire disparaître à jamais ces pratiques ancestrales