World’s oldest family tree is reconstructed from a Stone Age tomb

The world’s oldest family tree has been reconstructed by analyzing ancient DNA taken from a Stone Age tomb in the UK, according to a new study published on Wednesday (22).

The researchers extracted DNA from the bones and teeth of 35 individuals buried along graves in Hazleton North, in the Cotswolds-Severn region of England. They found that 27 of them were close biological relatives and belonged to five continuous generations of a single, extended family.

The group lived around 3700-3600 BC – approximately 5,700 years ago. The researchers found that most of the people buried in the tomb were descended from four women who had had children with the same man.

Archaeologists and geneticists from institutions around the world, including the University of Newcastle in England, the University of the Basque Country in Spain, the University of Vienna in Austria, and the University of Harvard in the United States, were involved in the research. .

According to the researchers, the study, published in the journal Nature, is significant for revealing in detail how prehistoric families were structured.

The findings provide fascinating new insights into the practices of kinship and burial during the Neolithic period – the last period of the Stone Age.

Iñigo Olalde, of the University of the Basque Country and the Ikerbasque Foundation, is the lead geneticist and co-author of the study, and said in a statement: “The excellent preservation of DNA in the tomb and the use of the latest technologies in the recovery and analysis of ancient DNA they allowed us to discover the oldest family tree ever reconstructed and analyze it to understand something profound about the social structure of these ancient groups”.

The researchers found that people were buried in the two L-shaped compartments in Hazleton North. The chambers were located to the north and south of the central part or “column” of the structure.

Men were usually buried with their father and brothers, suggesting that the descent was patrilineal, as later generations buried in the tomb were connected to earlier generations also placed there, entirely made up of male relatives.

Two of the family tree’s daughters who died in infancy were also buried in the tomb, but the team found a total absence of adult daughters, suggesting that their remains were placed in the tombs of their male partners with whom they would have children, or buried in another place.

According to the study, the right to use the tomb followed patrilineal lines — but the choice of where individuals would be buried in the area, with chambers to the north or south, depended on the first-generation women from whom they descended.

This suggests that this first generation of women was socially significant in community memories in Hazleton North and helps to better understand Neolithic kinship and the importance of family lineages in Stone Age burial practices, the researchers said.

David Reich, a professor of genetics at Harvard University who was involved in the research, said: “This study reflects what I think is the future of ancient DNA: one where archaeologists are able to apply ancient DNA analysis at resolution high enough to address the issues that really matter to them.”