Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Nov 25;105(47):18226-31. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0807592105. Epub 2008 Nov 17.

Abstract

In 2005 four outstanding multiple burials were discovered near Eulau, Germany. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of adults and children buried facing each other. Skeletal and artifactual evidence and the simultaneous interment of the individuals suggest the supposed families fell victim to a violent event. In a multidisciplinary approach, archaeological, anthropological, geochemical (radiogenic isotopes), and molecular genetic (ancient DNA) methods were applied to these unique burials. Using autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosomal markers, we identified genetic kinship among the individuals. A direct child-parent relationship was detected in one burial, providing the oldest molecular genetic evidence of a nuclear family. Strontium isotope analyses point to different origins for males and children versus females. By this approach, we gain insight into a Late Stone Age society, which appears to have been exogamous and patrilocal, and in which genetic kinship seems to be a focal point of social organization.

Publication types

  • Historical Article
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anthropology*
  • Bone and Bones*
  • Child
  • DNA / genetics*
  • Fossils*
  • Funeral Rites
  • Germany
  • History, Ancient
  • Humans
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Social Behavior*
  • Strontium Isotopes / analysis*

Substances

  • Strontium Isotopes
  • DNA

Associated data

  • GENBANK/FJ424615
  • GENBANK/FJ424616
  • GENBANK/FJ424617
  • GENBANK/FJ424618
  • GENBANK/FJ424619
  • GENBANK/FJ424620
  • GENBANK/FJ424621
  • GENBANK/FJ424622
  • GENBANK/FJ424623
  • GENBANK/FJ424624
  • GENBANK/FJ424625