Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community

Nature · 21 authors, 15 centres

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TL;DR

This study used ancient DNA and strontium isotopes from over 100 Neolithic remains in France to reconstruct social structures. It found a patrilocal, patrilineal community with two main pedigrees, evidence for female exogamy, and indicators of stable health and a short site occupation.

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The study analyzed ancient DNA, strontium isotopes, and archaeological data from over 100 individuals from the Gurgy ‘les Noisats’ site in France, dated to 4850–4500 bc. The researchers reconstructed biological relationships, finding two main pedigrees spanning seven generations. The evidence indicates a patrilocal and patrilineal system with female exogamy and exchange with neighboring groups. The community structure, with an absence of half-siblings and a high number of adult full siblings, suggests stable health conditions and a supportive social network. Age-structure differences and isotope results imply the site was used for just a few decades.

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preclinical research

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ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10432279

Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community

Nature

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ABSTRACT

Social anthropology and ethnographic studies have described kinship systems and networks of contact and exchange in extant populations 1 – 4 . However, for prehistoric societies, these systems can be studied only indirectly from biological and cultural remains. Stable isotope data, sex and age at death can provide insights into the demographic structure of a burial community and identify local versus non-local childhood signatures, archaeogenetic data can reconstruct the biological relationships between individuals, which enables the reconstruction of pedigrees, and combined evidence informs on kinship practices and residence patterns in prehistoric societies. Here we report ancient DNA, strontium isotope and contextual data from more than 100 individuals from the site Gurgy ‘les Noisats’ (France), dated to the western European Neolithic around 4850–4500 bc . We find that this burial community was genetically connected by two main pedigrees, spanning seven generations, that were patrilocal and patrilineal, with evidence for female exogamy and exchange with genetically close neighbouring groups. The microdemographic structure of individuals linked and unlinked to the pedigrees reveals additional information about the social structure, living conditions and site occupation. The absence of half-siblings and the high number of adult full siblings suggest that there were stable health conditions and a supportive social network, facilitating high fertility and low mortality 5 . Age-structure differences and strontium isotope results by generation indicate that the site was used for just a few decades, providing new insights into shifting sedentary farming practices during the European Neolithic.

CITATION EXPORT

Maïté Rivollat, Adam Benjamin Rohrlach, Harald Ringbauer et al.. Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community. Nature. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06350-8

AUTHORS

21 · 15 CENTRES

Maïté Rivollat, Adam Benjamin Rohrlach, Harald Ringbauer, Ainash Childebayeva, Fanny Mendisco, Rodrigo Barquera, András Szolek, Mélie Le Roy, Heidi Colleran, Jonathan Tuke, Franziska Aron, Marie-Hélène Pemonge, Ellen Späth, Philippe Télouk, Léonie Rey, Gwenaëlle Goude, Vincent Balter, Johannes Krause, Stéphane Rottier, Marie-France Deguilloux, Wolfgang Haak

1University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France
2grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
3grid.8250.f0000 0000 8700 0572Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK
4grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
5grid.17236.310000 0001 0728 4630Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK
6grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
7grid.1010.00000 0004 1936 7304School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia Australia
8grid.418245.e0000 0000 9999 5706Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany
9grid.15140.310000 0001 2175 9188Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, UCBL, LGL-TPE, Lyon, France
10grid.463971.e0000 0000 8560 2879CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Ministry of Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
11grid.5342.00000 0001 2069 7798Present Address: Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
12grid.1010.00000 0004 1936 7304Present Address: School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia Australia
13grid.10392.390000 0001 2190 1447Present Address: Applied Bioinformatics, Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
14grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Present Address: BirthRites Lise Meitner Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
15grid.9613.d0000 0001 1939 2794Present Address: RNA Bioinformatics and High Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany