TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2008//
TI  - Ancient DNA, Strontium isotopes, and osteological analyses shed light on social and kinship organization of the Later Stone Age
JO  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
A1  - Haak, Wolfgang
A1  - Brandt, Guido
A1  - Jong, Hylke N. de
A1  - Meyer, Christian
A1  - Ganslmeier, Robert
A1  - Heyd, Volker
A1  - Hawkesworth, Chris
A1  - Pike, Alistair W. G.
A1  - Meller, Harald
A1  - Alt, Kurt W.
SP  - 18226
EP  - 18231
VL  - 105
IS  - 47
N2  - In 2005 four outstanding multiple burials were discovered near Eulau, Germany. The 4,600-year-old graves contained groups of adults and children buried facing each other. Skeletal and artifactual evidence and the simultaneous interment of the individuals suggest the supposed families fell victim to a violent event. In a multidisciplinary approach, archaeological, anthropological, geochemical (radiogenic isotopes), and molecular genetic (ancient DNA) methods were applied to these unique burials. Using autosomal, mitochondrial, and Y-chromosomal markers, we identified genetic kinship among the individuals. A direct child-parent relationship was detected in one burial, providing the oldest molecular genetic evidence of a nuclear family. Strontium isotope analyses point to different origins for males and children versus females. By this approach, we gain insight into a Late Stone Age society, which appears to have been exogamous and patrilocal, and in which genetic kinship seems to be a focal point of social organization. burial rites Neolithic violence Corded Ware Culture exogamy<p /> <p>Language: en</p> 
LA  - en
SN  - 0027-8424
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0807592105
ID  - ref1
ER  -