The World's First Known Human Family

November 18, 2008

Analysis of a remarkable cluster of graves at a Stone Age burial site near Eulau, Germany, provides the oldest molecular genetic evidence for a nuclear family.

The 13 graves, dating to 4,600 years ago, contained groups of adults and children buried facing each other – hands interlinked in many cases. The family members, ranging in age from very young children to adults 30 years and older, were interred simultaneously.

(These figures illustrate the careful arrangement of the bodies of a Late Stone Age family grave. While the association of a close familial relationship becomes immediately apparent at the first sight, the multiple burials of grave 99 from Eulau, Germany has proven to be the oldest successful case of biological kinship testing in prehistory. Thanks to Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt (State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt), photographer Juraj Lipták, artist Karol Schauer and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences for use of the images.)

It's likely that the family was the victim of a violent raid. One female was impaled by a stone arrowhead, found stuck in her back bone. Another woman's skull had multiple fractures. Most of the other family members had "defense injuries" on their arms and hands, showing that they tried to fight off the raiders.

A flint arrowhead embedded in a lumbar vertebra of individual 5 (grave 90).

(The genetic relationship of individuals from grave 99. An in situ photograph is overlain by a pedigree reconstructed from the genetic results with squares denoting male, circles female individuals and triangles indifferent individuals. Different genetic lineages are illustrated by color fillings of the symbols with the mitochondrial (maternal) lineages highlighted in red and orange and the Y-chromosomal (paternal) lineage shown in blue (HG = Haplogroup, Ind. = Individual). When no genetic results could be received, the symbol is shown in grey. Haplogroup, Ind. = Individual). A reconstruction of the situation at death was added on top to emphasize the “intertwining” and the orientation of the bodies.)

The researchers, whose findings are outlined in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, used high tech genetics, physical anthropology and archaeological methods to study the remains.

"By establishing the genetic links between the two adults and two children buried together in one grave, we have established the presence of the classic nuclear family in a prehistoric context in Central Europe – to our knowledge the oldest authentic molecular genetic evidence so far," said lead author Wolfgang Haak of the University of Adelaide. "Their unity in death suggests a unity in life. However, this does not establish the elemental family to be a universal model or the most ancient institution of human communities."

The scientists used another clever technique—strontium isotope analysis—to determine the burial group's social organization.

Hylke de Jong, a PhD student working on the Eulau graves at the University of Bristol explained, "We measured strontium isotopes in their teeth to give us an indication of where these people spent their childhood. Strontium from the food you eat is incorporated into your teeth as they grow. We can relate the proportion of different strontium isotopes back to regions with different geology and identify the area where a person grew up."

Dr Alistair Pike, Head of Archaeology at the University of Bristol and co-Director of the project, continued: "The strontium analysis showed that the females spent their childhood in a different region from the males and children. This is an indication of exogamy (marrying out) and patrilocality (the females moving to the location of the males). Such traditions would have been important to avoid inbreeding and to forge kinship networks with other communities."

You can see the burials in person, as they are now on permanent display at Germany's Landesmuseum Sachsen-Anhalt.

Comments

[Kayla]

Wow! the first found family. Thats amazing. Speachless.

[Jen Viegas]

Thanks, Kayla. The drawing of the family, and what they went through before death, is haunting. Many questions to ask. Why were they raided, for example, and why did someone go to such care to bury them in this way?

[Ernest W.]

Many thanks for this. (And I think you mean "interred" in the second paragraph, right?)

[Jen Viegas]

You're right, Ernest. Thanks for pointing out the typo. Fixed it.

[Alex]

If these graves are only 4,600 years old and the oldest known civilization was around 6,000 years ago.. How can this be the oldest grave?

What about the Sumerians or the Egyptians? You don't expect me to believe none of them had families?

Does discovery let just anyone blog for them?

[Jen Viegas]

Alex, Please note that these are not the oldest known graves. Far from it, as you mention! The finds instead represent the earliest known genetic evidence for a related human family. Through DNA analysis and other means, the scientists were able to prove that the individuals in the graves were related. That's never been done before for such an old set of burials.

[kayla brown]

omg! hi kayla! my name is kayla brown. wow the firsyt family. thats so cool!!!!!

[kayla brown]

sorry i mean first.