麻豆淫院

A millet-farming settlement on the Shandong coast in Neolithic China around 4,500 years ago organized its society by maternal lineage, according to researchers at Peking University.

Ancient DNA from two distinct cemeteries at the Fujia archaeological site suggests that individuals were buried according to maternal clan affiliation for at least 10 generations.

Most ancient DNA studies have identified patrilineal and patrilocal structures, particularly in Neolithic and Bronze Age Eurasia. Analyses of prehistoric cemeteries in both Europe and Asia have repeatedly linked male-line descent with post-marital residence patterns in which women moved into their husbands' communities.

Only one matrilineal society has been confirmed through genomic evidence: an elite lineage at Chaco Canyon in North America. Tentative indications of matriliny have also been proposed in Iron Age Britain and among Celtic elites in southern Germany, though no consensus has been reached.

In the study, "Ancient DNA reveals a two-clanned matrilineal community in Neolithic China," in Nature, researchers analyzed genome-wide ancient DNA, stable isotope profiles, osteological data, and archaeological context to investigate whether maternal lineage structured kinship affiliation in a late Neolithic population.

Fujia is a late Dawenkou culture site located in Shandong province on China's northeastern coast, with radiocarbon dates ranging from 2750 to 2500 BCE. Excavations across three field seasons uncovered more than 500 burials, distributed between two spatially distinct cemeteries. Genome-wide data were successfully obtained from 60 individuals,14 from the northern cemetery and 46 from the southern cemetery.

Researchers analyzed mitochondrial and Y-chromosome haplogroups to trace maternal and paternal lineages. Stable isotope measurements from bones and teeth reconstructed diet and movement. Bayesian modeling of radiocarbon dates established the cemeteries' use over a 250-year period. Osteological analysis assessed burial patterns, age, and sex distributions.

All 14 individuals from the northern cemetery carried mitochondrial haplogroup M8a3, with zero haplotypic diversity, and 44 of 46 individuals from the southern cemetery carried haplogroup D5b1b.

This maternal clustering, alongside high diversity in Y-chromosome lineages, indicates that burial followed maternal descent. Even closely related individuals buried across cemeteries adhered to the cemetery-specific matrilineal assignment. Identity-by-descent metrics showed extensive kinship ties both within and across the two cemeteries, yet maternal lines remained discrete.

Burial organization reflected long-term social continuity. Each cemetery spanned at least 10 generations. Males and females of all ages were buried according to their natal maternal clans, not with their spouses or paternal kin.

Genetic and isotopic data revealed high endogamy, with minimal evidence of close-kin marriages but strong signals of repeated marriage within the broader community. This produced a small effective population size, estimated at 200鈥�400 individuals, despite the site's proximity to other Dawenkou settlements.

Stable isotope results showed a diet based largely on foxtail and broomcorn millet, supplemented by millet-fed pigs and possibly freshwater or marine resources. Strontium isotope ratios indicated little to no residential mobility. Isotopic and genetic evidence suggest the community was both geographically and socially bounded.

Authors conclude that the Fujia population maintained stable matrilineal organization across 10 or more generations, supported by burial affiliation, genetic patterns, and isotopic homogeneity.

They argue that the observed structure differs markedly from patrilocal societies in Neolithic Europe and China and resembles modern matrilineal systems with low inequality and minimal accumulation of wealth.

Findings challenge assumptions that patrilineal organization was universal among Neolithic societies.

By combining ancient DNA with archaeological and isotopic data, the study provides a new model for identifying matrilineal social structures in prehistory. Further research at other East Asian sites may determine whether such systems were more widespread than previously recognized.

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