Research on the African ancestors of American slaves is nearly 
impossible, even for a trained historian. An example of what *can* be 
done in some circumstances is provided by John Thornton in his article, 
"The African Experience of the '20.and Odd Negroes' Arriving in Virginia 
in 1619," William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 55:3 (July 1998), 
421-434. Since the ship from which these slaves were taken is now known, 
Thornton was able to provide a sketch of the likely setting in Angola 
(and neighboring areas) in which they lived before they were enslaved. 
This sort of group portrait is usually the best one can hope for, and it 
takes the knowledge and language skills of someone like Thornton to 
explore the relevant sources (he cites works in Spanish, Portuguese, 
German, and Italian--possibly Latin too--and includes his own 
translations of some brief passages in Kimbundu, a local language of the 
area).

Doug Deal