Important discovery of family ties from a 5,700-year-old tomb in England

DNA analysis from a 5,700-year-old grave has discovered the world's oldest family tree, shedding light on the crucial role family and lineage played in Britain's early farmers.

An illustration of the Hazleton North long cairn provided by the Corinium Museum.

A team of researchers examined the bones and teeth of 35 remains in one of the best preserved stone tombs in Britain, near the village of Hazleton in the Cotswolds. Dr Chris Fowler of Newcastle University said the results were 'astonishing'.

Researchers have found that 27 people are blood relatives from five consecutive generations in an extended family. Most are descendants of four women living with one man.

Dr Fowler said: 'This discovery tells us that family lineage is incredibly important. When they built these tombs, the most closely related descendants would be placed next to those who had died earlier in the mausoleum.

The tomb, called Hazleton North long cairn, is divided into two L-shaped areas and new research also shows that the dead will be buried with women related by blood.

That shows that the women of the first generation of the extended family have a very important role in the memory of people in this community."

This community of prehistoric people lived around 3700-3600 BC and they were among the first farmers in England, when the mausoleum was built about 100 years after farming and cattle ranching was introduced. imported from mainland Europe.

DNA samples in Stone Age tombs show how a family of 5 generations was buried in the same tomb.

The new study is a collaboration between archaeologists from the universities of Newcastle, Central Lancashire, Exeter and York, with participation of geneticists from the universities of Harvard, Vienna and the Basque Country. . The conclusions - the first to reveal the details of how prehistoric families were structured - are published in the journal Nature.

DNA analysis revealed age, sex and family relationships. "We've reconstructed a more detailed biographical picture of those individuals, which brings them closer to us as humans," said Mr Fowler.

Fowler said similar studies of graves in Ireland have concluded that the remains are biologically unrelated, making the discovery of Hazleton North "a rather extraordinary result".

The researchers also found that step-sons and step-sons were also present in the family lineage, suggesting that "mixed" families cannot just be seen as a phenomenon existing in the modern world. Grand.