Bellbeaking
05-07-2019, 04:02 PM
Unraveling ancestry, kinship, and violence in a Late Neolithic mass grave
Schroeder et al; 2019
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/04/30/1820210116
The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300–2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head.
Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.
There could be other reasons though such as interfarmer warfare. They did not seem to be buried by the steppe people as they where buried next to family members they where close to.
Interestingly, the older males/fathers are mostly missing from the grave, suggesting that it might have been them who buried their kin. The only father present in the grave is individual 10, whose partner and son are placed together opposite him in the grave. In addition, there is a young boy (individual 7), aged 2–2.5 y, whose parents are not in the grave, but he is placed next to other individuals to whom he is closely related through various second-degree relationships. Finally, there is individual 3, an adult female, who does not seem to be genetically related to anyone in the group. However, her position in the grave close to individual 4, a young man, suggests that she may have been as close to him in life as she was in death. These biological data and burial arrangements show that the social relationships held to be most significant in these societies were identical with genetic and reproductive relationships. However, they also demonstrate that nuclear families were nested in larger, extended family groups, either permanently or for parts of the year.
https://media.giphy.com/media/71PLYtZUiPRg4/giphy.gif
They where all I2a2
Analyses of ancient genomes can provide detailed information on the kinship structures and social organization of past communities (8⇓–10). At Koszyce, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis revealed the presence of six different maternal lineages, whereas analysis of the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome showed that all males carried the same Y chromosome haplotype: I2a-L801
https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2019/04/30/1820210116/F2.large.jpg?width=800&height=600&carousel=1
Genetic affinities of the Koszyce individuals and other GAC groups (here including Złota) analyzed in this study.
https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2019/04/30/1820210116/F3.medium.gif
Schroeder et al; 2019
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/04/30/1820210116
The third millennium BCE was a period of major cultural and demographic changes in Europe that signaled the beginning of the Bronze Age. People from the Pontic steppe expanded westward, leading to the formation of the Corded Ware complex and transforming the genetic landscape of Europe. At the time, the Globular Amphora culture (3300–2700 BCE) existed over large parts of Central and Eastern Europe, but little is known about their interaction with neighboring Corded Ware groups and steppe societies. Here we present a detailed study of a Late Neolithic mass grave from southern Poland belonging to the Globular Amphora culture and containing the remains of 15 men, women, and children, all killed by blows to the head.
Although the reason for the massacre is unknown, it is possible that it was connected with the expansion of Corded Ware groups, which may have resulted in competition for resources and violent conflict. Together with the archaeological evidence, these analyses provide an unprecedented level of insight into the kinship structure and social behavior of a Late Neolithic community.
There could be other reasons though such as interfarmer warfare. They did not seem to be buried by the steppe people as they where buried next to family members they where close to.
Interestingly, the older males/fathers are mostly missing from the grave, suggesting that it might have been them who buried their kin. The only father present in the grave is individual 10, whose partner and son are placed together opposite him in the grave. In addition, there is a young boy (individual 7), aged 2–2.5 y, whose parents are not in the grave, but he is placed next to other individuals to whom he is closely related through various second-degree relationships. Finally, there is individual 3, an adult female, who does not seem to be genetically related to anyone in the group. However, her position in the grave close to individual 4, a young man, suggests that she may have been as close to him in life as she was in death. These biological data and burial arrangements show that the social relationships held to be most significant in these societies were identical with genetic and reproductive relationships. However, they also demonstrate that nuclear families were nested in larger, extended family groups, either permanently or for parts of the year.
https://media.giphy.com/media/71PLYtZUiPRg4/giphy.gif
They where all I2a2
Analyses of ancient genomes can provide detailed information on the kinship structures and social organization of past communities (8⇓–10). At Koszyce, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis revealed the presence of six different maternal lineages, whereas analysis of the nonrecombining region of the Y chromosome showed that all males carried the same Y chromosome haplotype: I2a-L801
https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2019/04/30/1820210116/F2.large.jpg?width=800&height=600&carousel=1
Genetic affinities of the Koszyce individuals and other GAC groups (here including Złota) analyzed in this study.
https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/early/2019/04/30/1820210116/F3.medium.gif