A Neolithic burial site in France has yielded seven generations of the same family. Many of the 128 individuals buried in the ancient cemetery turned out to be related. Furthermore, they were burying people next to their closest relatives. At least, their closest male relatives.
The men were all related. The women, not so much, indicating that this society was patrilocal (wives moving in with their husbands on marriage).
They also discovered no half siblings (which seems strange, did these people not remarry after the death of a spouse), indicating a high level of monogamy in this group. Other sites, not so much.
We can't tell much more than this, but it shows an extended family occupying the same land for generation after generation. Farmers living their quiet life. That's a human thing, right there.
No comments:
Post a Comment