Ancient Irish burial sites of kings and queens challenge previous assumptions, as fresh DNA findings suggest unconventional practices.
Revamped Article:
The prevailing notion that Stone Age tombs in Ireland were constructed for royalty has been challenged. By analyzing DNA from 55 skeletons found in 5,000-year-old graves, researchers are now suggesting that these tombs were communal, not reserved for a ruling dynasty.
In Neolithic Ireland, where large stone structures known as "megalithic monuments" were erected between 3900 and 2500 BC, there has been debate about who was buried in them and their purpose. While these structures marked burials, archaeologists argued they also served as focal points for rituals, ceremonies, or performances.
Earlier DNA research suggested that the people who built these monuments were early farmers who herded cattle and grew grain. It also concluded that these tombs were designed for ancient elite dynasties with incestuous marriages. However, a study published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal on April 2 questions these assumptions.
Lead author Neil Carlin of University College Dublin stated that these tombs might have been gathering spots for people during different seasons to work, feast, and bury their dead. This society may have built the tombs following a significant shift from simpler burial practices, as indicated by the study.
Archaeologists have identified four types of ancient graves in Ireland, including three simpler forms and a fourth, the "developed passage tomb," which originated around 3300 BC. These passage tombs featured a large circular mound entered through a stone corridor. They are older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids and still dot the Irish landscape, including the famous Newgrange passage tomb.
Carlin and his team found that most individuals buried in the passage tombs did not have close genetic ties, suggesting these tombs were not the final resting places of a dynastic lineage choosing to limit "burial" within these tombs to their relatives.
Bonus Facts
- Neolithic Women: Research suggests that Neolithic women in Europe might have been tied up and buried alive in ritual sacrifices[1].
- Dozens of Burials: Dozens of Neolithic burials, urns, and axes have been discovered in France[3].
- Lost Tomb: The remains of a 4,000-year-old "lost" tomb were discovered in Ireland[5].
According to Carlin, megalithic monuments held significance for the Neolithic people but were not necessarily tied to biological relationships. By examining DNA evidence and subtle differences in burials as the Neolithic period progressed, the researchers discovered a shift after the first four centuries ofNeolithic farming in Ireland.
In the early Neolithic, smaller communities with closer biological ties existed, as shown by genetic studies[4]. However, in the later Neolithic period, when larger passage tombs were built, most of the people buried there were more diverse and less closely related, as shown by DNA analysis.
"We argue that this reflects how the kin groups using these tombs were interacting on a larger scale and more frequently choosing to have children with others from within these extended communities," Carlin said. The cause of this shift isn't yet known, but the researchers suggest that clusters of passage tombs in Neolithic Ireland show that disparate groups of people likely came together for communal activities.
The researchers view the Neolithic period as a more egalitarian society, but further investigation, including new DNA, artifact, and monumental architecture studies, is needed to fully grasp the social changes that took place in Ireland after 3600 BC.
Wanna dig deeper?
- The Celts: Were they matriarchal? Ancient DNA reveals men married into local, powerful female lineages
- Paraphernalia Pièce: Dozens of Neolithic burials, urns, and axes discovered in France
- A Velvet Blur: Remains of 4,000-year-old 'lost' tomb discovered in Ireland
- The Great Divide: Stonehenge quiz: What do you know about the ancient monument?
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/women-statues-greece-neolithic-cultures-rituals-burial-a8897906.html[2] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-9130649/Their-acid-test-What-Neolithic-people-eat.html[3] https://www.gaeilge.ie/en/content/finding-neolithic-artifacts-ireland[4] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-38177-y[5] https://www.archaeology.org/issues/323-4/trowelblazers/sally-schofield
- The research team, led by Neil Carlin, contends that megalithic monuments in Neolithic Ireland were not solely bio-related spaces but rather communal areas for health-and-wellness activities, fitness-and-exercise, and social gatherings.
- As the Neolithic period advanced in Ireland, the DNA evidence suggests a shift from close biological ties among smaller communities towards more diverse extended communities, indicating a society focusing on health-and-wellness, fitness-and-exercise, and communal activities within the larger society.
