People buried in the same tombs did not always have close biological ties: German graves contradict what was assumed from finds in Ireland and Sweden.
More than 5,000 years ago, communities in Central Europe erected large stone tombs that still dot the landscape. These Late Neolithic megalithic monuments have often been associated with ancestry, family identity, and groups united by blood ties. But a new genetic study, in Science, now suggests a more complex reality.
The research analyzed DNA data from 203 individuals buried in six megalithic funerary complexes linked to the Western Funnel Beaker and Wartberg cultural groups, in regions that are now part of Germany, mainly in Lower Saxony, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.
By studying DNA extracted from bones, researchers sought to understand patterns of ancestry, kinship, mobility and social organization among Late Neolithic agricultural communities.
The results indicate that the People buried in the same tombs did not always have close biological ties. In many cases, monuments functioned as community burial spaces, used by individuals linked by social relationships, and not just by nuclear families or genetically close lineages. Membership in the group appears to have been as important as biological kinship in defining who was buried there.
This conclusion contrasts with previous studies in regions such as Ireland and Sweden, where some megalithic tombs appeared to be organized around biologically close families. In the German case, clearly, the picture is different: communities reveal more flexible forms of social organization, comparable to extended families or “mosaics”, in which the Social bonds played a central role.
The study also brings new clues about mobility in the Neolithic. One of the most striking cases involves a biological father and son buried in graves about 225 kilometers apart. The father was found in Niedertiefenbach and the son in Sorsum, further north. This connection shows long-distance travel in a single generationbefore domesticated horses became established means of transportation in Central Europe.
Other first- and second-degree relatives were also identified in distant locations, suggesting persistent networks between communities. Women and girls appear to have been particularly mobile.
Despite the archaeological differences between the groups studied, the genetic data show a relatively homogeneous population. Funeral practices and cultural identities remained distinct, even with the movement of people, long-distance family relationships and the transmission of ideas.
