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The family is important!

An analysis of DNA from a 5,700-year-old tomb has revealed the world’s oldest family tree, shedding “extraordinary” light on the importance of family and descent among people who were some of Britain’s first farmers.

A research team has examined the bones and teeth of 35 people in one of Britain’s best preserved neolithic tombs, near the village of Hazleton in the Cotswolds. The results, said Dr Chris Fowler of Newcastle University, are nothing short of “astounding”.

The researchers have discovered that 27 were biological relatives from five continuous generations of a single extended family. The majority were descended from four women who all had children with the same man.

Astounding and most important. Only in modern academia perhaps is the finding that families, descent, are important to humans one of those things that astounds. Everyone else is looking at the astounded as if they are the idiot ginger stepchild. What bleedin’ social institution does anyone think pins the species together?

16 thoughts on “The family is important!”

  1. They forgot to say how many of this 5,700 year old Cotswold family were black. Because black and mixed race people have always been here, haven’t they, making an important but overlooked contribution etc. etc.

  2. The only astounding thing here is that an “academic” is astounded by something which is blindingly obvious to a normal adult (in this context, meaning to possess the critical faculties and common sense that were pretty well ubiquitous in anybody even vaguely educated up to 20 years or so ago).

    I imagine this would have been true in the Cotswolds 50 years ago.

  3. What bleedin’ social institution does anyone think pins the species together?

    Get with programme Tim; clearly Diversity™ is what makes us stronger!

  4. So the man had children by 4 women. Interesting. Was it a matter of 4 ‘wives’ at the same time, or one after the other as they died off in childbirth or from something else – or even somewhere in between?

  5. So the man had children by 4 women. Interesting.

    Historically, only about 40% of men have managed to reproduce so probably the Headman/ Big Man of the village/ settlement would have the most children and with several different women.

  6. I’m more interested in the shagging tbf:

    The majority were descended from four women who all had children with the same man.

    I’ve seen it claimed that a surprisingly tiny percentage of men during the Neolithic successfully procreated, but nearly all women did. A ratio of 1:17.

    If that’s true, the agricultural revolution and its consequences were even grimmer than we thought. A literal genetic dead end for nearly half the species. A worse and more terrifying form of involuntary contraception than being an active member of the Campaign for Real Ale.

    Join me, friends. Return to monke.

  7. Yer early farmers started from Turkey and came to Western Europe by two different routes, either up the Danube or around the northern shore of the Mediterranean. Can the researchers tell us which route this mob’s ancestors had taken?

    I’ve seen it suggested that eastern Britain was settled by the Danubians, and western – right up through the Irish Sea and on to the Hebrides and eventually to Orkney – by the Mediterraneans.

    Idle curiosity demands an answer.

  8. Sam- don’t know whether its neolithic or meso but the cheddar man latest was that he had blue eyes and dark skin. Still a guess because its always a mix of genes and the ancient mix is unusual so can’t tell for sure the phenotype. But as i understand it these guys were wiped out by the farmers so its a bit of moot point.

  9. Bloke in North Dorset

    The majority were descended from four women who all had children with the same man.

    Tut, tut. What is the world coming to. Its birthing parent and non-birthing parent. Those damned transphobic Neolithics 😉

  10. Steve: “Join me, friends. Return to monke.”

    Umm.. Do I need to point out that the basic social setup for any of the apes/monkeys is the Harem, where only the Big Boss and possibly some of his pals get to shag the ladies?
    And that each and every Primitive Tribe extant or in the past that we’ve got data on work(ed) on a variety of that same Harem Principle?

    And that this honestly hasn’t changed.. Those with the resources and power to protect women and let them raise their kids in comfort are only stopped by social constructs and societal jealousy of having an actual Harem.
    How many Fitzes again? How many Mistresses? How many Trophy Wives?

    Nothing has changed…

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