East Anglian early Neolithic monument burial linked to contemporary Megaliths

Bibliographic Data

ID13922209
AuthorsChristiana Scheib (0000-0003-4158-8296, Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia, corresponding author), Ruoyun Hui (0000-0002-5689-7131, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;), Eugenia D’Atanasio (0000-0002-4965-246X, KU Leuven), Anthony Wilder Wohns (0000-0001-7353-1177, University of Oxford), Sarah Inskip (0000-0001-7424-2094, University of Cambridge), Sarah A Inskip (McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;), Alice K Rose (0000-0003-1755-7174, University of Cambridge), Alice Rose (0000-0002-9165-4119, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;), Craig Cessford (0000-0001-7291-7828, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK;), T C O''Connell (0000-0002-4744-0332, University of Cambridge), John E Robb (Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK), John Robb (0000-0002-7987-4549, University of Cambridge), Chris Evans (0000-0002-4197-4202), R W Patten, Ricky Patten (Cambridge Archaeological Unit, Cambridge, UK), Toomas Kivisild (0000-0002-6297-7808, Estonian Biocentre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia)
Year2019
Volume46
Issue2
Pages145-149
Publication date2019-02-17
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnals of Human Biology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0301-4460 • E-ISSN: 1464-5033
PublisherInforma (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03014460.2019.1623912
PMID31184205
OpenAlexW2952118993
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited16

In the fourth millennium BCE a cultural phenomenon of monumental burial structures spread along the Atlantic façade. Megalithic burials have been targeted for aDNA analyses, but a gap remains in East Anglia, where Neolithic structures were generally earthen or timber. An early Neolithic (3762-3648 cal. BCE) burial monument at the site of Trumpington Meadows, Cambridgeshire, UK, contained the partially articulated remains of at least three individuals. To determine whether this monument fits a pattern present in megalithic burials regarding sex bias, kinship, diet and relationship to modern populations, teeth and ribs were analysed for DNA and carbon and nitrogen isotopic values, respectively. Whole ancient genomes were sequenced from two individuals to a mean genomic coverage of 1.6 and 1.2X and genotypes imputed. Results show that they were brothers from a small population genetically and isotopically similar to previously published British Neolithic individuals, with a level of genome-wide homozygosity consistent with a small island population sourced from continental Europe, but bearing no signs of recent inbreeding. The first Neolithic whole genomes from a monumental burial in East Anglia confirm that this region was connected with the larger pattern of Neolithic megaliths in the British Isles and the Atlantic façade

Ancient DNA · Archaeology · Beaker · Biology · Fauna · Geography · Kinship · Megalith · Population · Prehistory · Demography · Forensic and Genetic Research · Genetic diversity and population structure · Identification and Quantification in Food · Ecology

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