image: The Ansarve dolmen, island of Gotland, Sweden. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Magdalena Fraser.
A study finds kin relationships among people buried in Neolithic megalith tombs, suggesting a societal role for the enigmatic stone structures. Megalithic tombs are thought to have emerged in France around 4,500 BCE and spread throughout Europe. However, the origin of such structures and their role in Neolithic societies have been debated. Mattias Jakobsson, Jan Storå, and colleagues generated genomic sequence data from 24 individuals buried in five megalithic tombs in Ireland, Scotland, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. The authors compared the genomic data with European paleogenomic data and found that the individuals displayed affinity to farming groups that had some past admixture with hunter-gatherer groups. In the British Isles, more men than women were identified in megalithic burials, although the same gender disparity was not seen in nonmegalithic burials. Among all sampled sites, the authors identified kin relationships of first and second degrees, indicating both immediate family members and close extended family members. In Ireland, the kin relationships extended to multiple megaliths. Continuity of paternal genetic characteristics through time, up to 12 generations, suggests that the megaliths were associated with patrilineal family groups. According to the authors, the results suggest previously unknown roles for megalith structures among Neolithic societies and families.
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Article #18-18037: "Megalithic tombs in western and northern Neolithic Europe were linked to a kindred society," by Federico Sánchez-Quinto et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mattias Jakobsson, Uppsala University, SWEDEN; tel: +46 18 4716449; e-mail: <mattias.jakobsson@ebc.uu.se>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences