The ancient DNA of a man buried in a monumental stone age tomb in Ireland revealed that he was born from incest five,000 years ago. However, this fact does not mean that, according to new research, he was, as he previously argued.
“There is nothing in the Neolithic Irish archaeological record that indicates that there was a ‘king’ or any kind of royal hierarchy at the time,” Jessica Smith, an associate professor of archaeology at the University of Dublin, told Live Science in an email. “This is a social category from a much later period when it is applied improperly.”
In a study published in the Ancient Journal on Tuesday (June 24th), Smith and his colleagues presented a new interpretation of the fragmentary skeleton of a man buried in the New Grange, raising questions about the assumption that his inbred parent and child meant he was part of an elite dynasty.
You might like it
Built in northeastern Ireland around 3100 BC and rediscovered in 1699, New Grange is a large tomb with an inner passage leading to a burial room. The skeletons discovered on the New Grande Mound were isolated. That is, there were no uninterrupted burials of the entire individual, and no fragments of people who were likely to have moved to the mound some time after death.
An analysis of ancient DNA from the New Grande skeleton was conducted in 2020, and researchers were surprised to find the skull bones of an adult male (NG10), whose parents are first-class relatives. Because this type of incest is a near-universal human taboo, the researchers looked for culture to seek explanations, and settled on the idea that sibling marriages are sometimes considered acceptable among royals led by “the kings of God” such as the Incas of ancient Egypt and the Mesoamerican.
However, calling NG10 “the King of God” due to his parent-child relationship and his placement in the tomb of New Grange is problematic, Smith and colleagues wrote in a new study.
Related: Early Celtic elites inherited power through their maternal lineage, ancient DNA reveals
“What we’re attracting attention is the fact that incest has, so far, been a unique event in Neolithic Ireland and England,” Smith said. In fact, studies show that there is little evidence of social inequality in Neolithic Ireland (4000-2500 BC).
Although NG10’s bones were found in a small hollow in the burial room, Smith and his colleagues said this does not necessarily mean that he was buried there or that it was a special place within the grave.
“Given the internal disturbances of NewGrange over the past 300 years, there is no real way to know where that skull fragments came from, or whether the NG10 parent and child are known to others or remain hidden,” Smith said.
In a previous study published in April, the same team of researchers in the new paper argued that, while certainly impressive, monuments like New Grange and other megalithic were likely to have been a resting place for the entire community rather than the local dynasty.
The selection criteria for New Grange’s burials are not clear, Smith said, as newborns, elderly people, men and women, and people of different abilities are among those buried on the mound.
“It’s safe to say that most people in the Neolithic era were not at the megalithic monument,” Smith said.
Stone Age Quiz: What do you know about the Paleostemic, Mesosonic, and Neostemic Ages?
Source link
