Enormous ancient burial mounds filled with luxurious artifacts may link elite members of an extended family in southern Germany along maternal lines, a new DNA analysis shows.
An uncle and nephew buried in two of the richest burial mounds, along with evidence of first-cousin inbreeding, point strongly toward matrilineal dynasties of elite power, according to the study, which was published Monday (June 3) in the journal Nature Human Behaviour .
Between about 600 and 400 B.C., during the Iron Age, burial mounds containing gold jewelry, wagons and imported goods were built in what is now southwestern Germany, eastern France and Switzerland. The elite people buried in these mounds wielded immense political and religious power and are often called “early Celtic princes and princesses.” But researchers have disagreed as to whether these people gained their status through a lifetime of achievements or inherited their power.
In the new study, researchers analyzed the ancient DNA of 31 skeletons from seven elite-burial sites, dating to the sixth to fifth centuries B.C., within a roughly 40-square-mile (100 square kilometers) area of southwest Germany. Their aim was to determine if biological relationships could be found across this time and space, thereby suggesting the early Celts had elite dynasties.
One of the burials, dubbed the Lady of Ditzingen-Schöckingen, contained gold jewelry. (Image credit: © Landesmuseum Württemberg, H. Zwietasch)
The team discovered a second-degree relationship — likely an uncle and nephew — between two male individuals who shared maternal ancestry. Both men were buried in richly appointed neighboring mounds and appear to have grown up in the local area. According to study co-author Dirk Krausse
Related: Iron Age Celtic woman wearing fancy clothes buried in this ‘tree coffin’ in Switzerland
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One of the burials had a handled bronze cauldron decorated with lions. (Image credit: Landesmuseum Württemberg, P. Frankenstein/H. Zwietasch)
A bird’s-eye view of the Alte Burg shaft, which held a male burial. (Image credit: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, ArcTron 3D GmbH)
Another biological link was found between a woman and a man who were buried in mounds about 60 miles (100 kilometers) and a century apart. This is an exceedingly rare discovery that probably represents a great-grandmother and her great-grandson, the study authors said.
When the researchers tested the skeletons for evidence of recent inbreeding, they found that two people were most likely born to first-cousin parents. This sort of biological evidence for inbreeding is also rare in archaeogenetic studies, which may suggest that it was more frequent among these Celtic elites than among other archaeological populations, according to the study.
Family connections among the burial mounds strongly suggest a pattern of hereditary leadership that was organized along the maternal line, the researchers concluded in their study. Although power was wielded primarily by men, rich burials of women in the region showcase their high status as well.
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A virtual reconstruction of the Hochdorf burial mound in Germany. (Image credit: © Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, O. Braasch)
Reconstructed buildings and a mud brick wall by the Upper Danube River in Germany. (Image credit: Landesamt für Denkmalpflege im Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, I. Rack)
Matrilineal inheritance of power was not common in Iron Age Europe, and it is also relatively rare
“If a ruler has children on their own but also passes power to their sister’s children, then there might be an incentive to merge the direct and the sister’s lineage, which would then result in first-cousin matings through the female line,” study co-author Stephan Schiffels
Marco Milella
This genetic study may finally elucidate the nature of the early Celtic political system — specifically, as one of familial interconnectedness across time and space, with a high degree of social complexity and regional hierarchy, the authors concluded.
