Anthropology
Related: About this forumScientists Discover Celtic Society Where Men Left Home to Join Their Bride's Community
DNA extracted from 57 individuals buried in a 2,000-year-old cemetery provides evidence of a “matrilocal” community in Iron Age Britain, a new study suggests
Sarah Kuta
Daily Correspondent
January 16, 2025
In 2008, archaeologists discovered a large cemetery in southwest England. Located near the village of Winterborne Kingston in Dorset, the burial ground contained human remains dating back to Britain’s Iron Age, which lasted from around 800 B.C.E. to 43 C.E. The bodies belonged to a Celtic tribe known as the Durotriges.
Since intact remains from this period are rare, the researchers were happy to have discovered the cemetery in the first place. But when they began to sequence DNA from dozens of bodies buried at the site, they were in for an even bigger surprise.
In 2008, archaeologists discovered a large cemetery in southwest England. Located near the village of Winterborne Kingston in Dorset, the burial ground contained human remains dating back to Britain’s Iron Age, which lasted from around 800 B.C.E. to 43 C.E. The bodies belonged to a Celtic tribe known as the Durotriges.
Since intact remains from this period are rare, the researchers were happy to have discovered the cemetery in the first place. But when they began to sequence DNA from dozens of bodies buried at the site, they were in for an even bigger surprise.
More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/scientists-discover-celtic-society-where-men-left-home-to-join-their-brides-community-180985857/
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highplainsdem
(53,912 posts)The Smithsonian article also points out that ancient Romans who invaded Britain had written about "British women with high levels of power and multiple husbands" but scholars weren't sure if those descriptions were based on fact, or were anti-British propaganda to make Celtic women seem abnormal - wild compared to Roman women.