What can Neolithic tombs tell us about kinship? Exploring ‘the world’s oldest family tree’
Corinium Museum holds the archaeological remains from one of the best-preserved Neolithic tombs to be excavated in the twentieth century: Hazleton North. The dry-stone burial mound contained two sets of stone chambers – one to the north and one to the south side of the mound – which yielded the skeletal remains of at least 44 individuals dating to c. 3700-3600 BC. A recent collaborative study by an international team carried out ancient DNA analysis on the remains of 35 individuals from the tomb, identifying what was ‘the world’s oldest family tree’. This research, published in the journal Nature¹, identified that 27 of the 35 individuals were close biological relatives forming a family tree across five consecutive generations. The majority of these individuals were male and the relationships between them indicate that patrilineal descent was an important factor in deciding who to entomb. One male in the first generation reproduced with four different women. Three of these women were also entombed, and the dead were largely divided into the northern or southern set of chambers depending on which of these four women they were descended from, suggesting these women were important figures in the community. We are now, extraordinarily, able to talk about family relationships and the decisions made about who should be buried in the tomb among a community from 5700 years ago.
This talk will examine how kinship worked in this community, including multiple partnerships, the possible existence of adopted sons, and explanations for the inclusion of other unrelated individuals. It will then extend out from Hazleton North to consider how variations in the architecture of different tombs might help us understand kinship in Neolithic Britain.
¹ Chris Fowler and Iñigo Olalde, Vicki Cummings, Ian Armit, Lindsey Büster, Sarah Cuthbert, Nadin Rohland, Olivia Cheronet, Ron Pinhasi and David Reich. 2021. A high-resolution picture of kinship practices in an Early Neolithic tomb. Nature (2021) 601: 584–587.
Dr Chris Fowler studied at the University of Southampton from 1992 to 1999, on BA hons and PhD archaeology programmes during which he investigated the application of anthropological approaches to the body and the person in prehistoric archaeology, especially Neolithic and early Bronze Age Britain.
Chris is currently the Programme Director for Research Degrees in Archaeology at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne. He specialises in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man, especially the interpretation of mortuary practices. At present he is researching the interpretation of kinship in Neolithic Britain and Ireland, drawing on multiple strands of evidence including architecture and ancient DNA.
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