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Rivollat M, Rohrlach AB, Ringbauer H, Childebayeva A, Mendisco F, Barquera R, Szolek A, Le Roy M, Colleran H, Tuke J, Aron F, Pemonge MH, Späth E, Télouk P, Rey L, Goude G, Balter V, Krause J, Rottier S, Deguilloux MF, Haak W. Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organization of a Neolithic community. Nature 2023; 620:600-606. [PMID: 37495691 PMCID: PMC10432279 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06350-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/28/2023]
Abstract
Social anthropology and ethnographic studies have described kinship systems and networks of contact and exchange in extant populations1-4. 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 mortality5. 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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maïté Rivollat
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France.
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
- Department of Archaeology, Durham University, Durham, UK.
- Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Adam Benjamin Rohrlach
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Harald Ringbauer
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ainash Childebayeva
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fanny Mendisco
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France
| | - Rodrigo Barquera
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - András Szolek
- Department of Immunology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Applied Bioinformatics, Department of Computer Science, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Mélie Le Roy
- Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK
| | - Heidi Colleran
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- BirthRites Lise Meitner Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jonathan Tuke
- School of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Franziska Aron
- Leibniz Institute on Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany
- RNA Bioinformatics and High Throughput Analysis, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany
| | - Marie-Hélène Pemonge
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France
| | - Ellen Späth
- Leibniz Institute on Aging-Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI), Jena, Germany
| | - Philippe Télouk
- Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, UCBL, LGL-TPE, Lyon, France
| | - Léonie Rey
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France
| | - Gwenaëlle Goude
- CNRS, Aix Marseille University, Ministry of Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Vincent Balter
- Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS, UCBL, LGL-TPE, Lyon, France
| | - Johannes Krause
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stéphane Rottier
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France.
| | - Marie-France Deguilloux
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, PACEA - UMR 5199, Allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Pessac, France
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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Crombé P, Aluwé K, Boudin M, Snoeck C, Messiaen L, Teetaert D. New evidence on the earliest domesticated animals and possible small-scale husbandry in Atlantic NW Europe. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20083. [PMID: 33208792 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77002-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The distribution of the first domesticated animals and crops along the coastal area of Atlantic NW Europe, which triggered the transition from a hunter-gatherer-fisher to a farmer-herder economy, has been debated for many decades among archaeologists. While some advocate a gradual transition in which indigenous hunter-gatherers from the very beginning of the 5th millennium cal BC progressively adopted Neolithic commodities, others are more in favor of a rapid transition near the end of the 5th millennium caused by a further northwest migration of farmers-herders colonizing the lowlands. Here, radiocarbon dated bones from sheep/goat and possibly also cattle are presented which provide the first hard evidence of an early introduction of domesticated animals within a hunter-gatherer context in NW Belgium, situated ca. 80 km north of the agro-pastoral frontier. Based on their isotope signal it is suggested that these first domesticates were probably not merely obtained through exchange with contemporaneous farmers but were kept locally, providing evidence of small-scale local stockbreeding in the lowlands maybe as early as ca. 4800/4600 cal BC. If confirmed by future in-depth isotope analyses, the latter testifies of intense contact and transmission of knowledge in this early contact period, which is also visible in the material culture, such as the lithic and pottery technology. It also implies direct and prolonged involvement of farmer-herders, either through visiting specialists or intermarriage, which follows recent genetic evidence demonstrating much more hunter-gatherer ancestry in early farmer’s genes in western Europe compared to central and SE Europe.
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Goude G, Salazar-García DC, Power RC, Rivollat M, Gourichon L, Deguilloux MF, Pemonge MH, Bouby L, Binder D. New insights on Neolithic food and mobility patterns in Mediterranean coastal populations. Am J Phys Anthropol 2020; 173:218-235. [PMID: 32557548 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2019] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The aims of this research are to explore the diet, mobility, social organization, and environmental exploitation patterns of early Mediterranean farmers, particularly the role of marine and plant resources in these foodways. In addition, this work strives to document possible gendered patterns of behavior linked to the neolithization of this ecologically rich area. To achieve this, a set of multiproxy analyses (isotopic analyses, dental calculus, microremains analysis, ancient DNA) were performed on an exceptional deposit (n = 61) of human remains from the Les Bréguières site (France), dating to the transition of the sixth to the fifth millennium BCE. MATERIALS AND METHODS The samples used in this study were excavated from the Les Bréguières site (Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes, France), located along the southeastern Mediterranean coastline of France. Stable isotope analyses (C, N) on bone collagen (17 coxal bones, 35 craniofacial elements) were performed as a means to infer protein intake during tissue development. Sulfur isotope ratios were used as indicators of geographical and environmental points of origin. The study of ancient dental calculus helped document the consumption of plants. Strontium isotope analysis on tooth enamel (n = 56) was conducted to infer human provenance and territorial mobility. Finally, ancient DNA analysis was performed to study maternal versus paternal diversity within this Neolithic group (n = 30). RESULTS Stable isotope ratios for human bones range from -20.3 to -18.1‰ for C, from 8.9 to 11.1‰ for N and from 6.4 to 15‰ for S. Domestic animal data range from -22.0 to -20.2‰ for C, from 4.1 to 6.9‰ for N, and from 10.2 to 12.5‰ for S. Human enamel 87 Sr/86 Sr range from 0.7081 to 0.7102, slightly wider than the animal range (between 0.7087 and 0.7096). Starch and phytolith microremains were recovered as well as other types of remains (e.g., hairs, diatoms, fungal spores). Starch grains include Triticeae type and phytolith includes dicotyledons and monocot types as panicoid grasses. Mitochondrial DNA characterized eight different maternal lineages: H1, H3, HV (5.26%), J (10.53%), J1, K, T (5.2%), and U5 (10.53%) but no sample yielded reproducible Y chromosome SNPs, preventing paternal lineage characterization. DISCUSSION Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios indicate a consumption of protein by humans mainly focused on terrestrial animals and possible exploitation of marine resources for one male and one undetermined adult. Sulfur stable isotope ratios allowed distinguishing groups with different geographical origins, including two females possibly more exposed to the sea spray effect. While strontium isotope data do not indicate different origins for the individuals, mitochondrial lineage diversity from petrous bone DNA suggests the burial includes genetically differentiated groups or a group practicing patrilocality. Moreover, the diversity of plant microremains recorded in dental calculus provide the first evidence that the groups of Les Bréguières consumed a wide breadth of plant foods (as cereals and wild taxa) that required access to diverse environments. This transdisciplinary research paves the way for new perspectives and highlights the relevance for novel research of contexts (whether recently discovered or in museum collections) excavated near shorelines, due to the richness of the biodiversity and the wide range of edible resources available.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwenaëlle Goude
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Minist. Culture, LAMPEA, Aix-en-Provence, France
| | - Domingo C Salazar-García
- Grupo de Investigación en Prehistoria IT-1223-19 (UPV-EHU)/IKERBASQUE-Basque Foundation for Science, Vitoria, Spain.,Aix Marseille Univ, IMERA, Marseille, France.,Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Departament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Robert C Power
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Maïté Rivollat
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany.,Bordeaux University, Pessac, France
| | | | | | | | - Laurent Bouby
- ISEM-Université Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
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