Extensive pedigrees reveal the social organisation of a Neolithic community
Social anthropology and ethnographic studies have described kinship systems and networks of contact and exchange in extant populations. However, for prehistoric societies these systems can only be studied indirectly from biological and cultural remains. Stable isotope data, sex and age at death can provide insights into the demographic structure of a burial community and identify local vs. non-local childhood signatures, archaeogenetic data can reconstruct the biological relationships between individuals, which allows for the reconstruction of pedigrees, and combined evidence informs on kinship practices and residence patterns in prehistoric societies. Here, we report ancient DNA, strontium isotope and contextual data from >100 individuals from the site Gurgy 'les Noisats' (France), dated to the western European Neolithic ~4850-4500 BCE. We find that this burial community was genetically connected by two main pedigrees, spanning seven generations, which were patrilocal and patrilineal, with evidence for female exogamy and exchange with genetically close neighbouring groups. The micro-demographic structure of individuals linked and unlinked to the pedigrees reveals additional information about the social structure, living conditions and site occupation. The absence of half-siblings and high number of adult full siblings suggest stable health conditions and a supportive social network, facilitating high fertility and low mortality. Age-structure differences and strontium isotope results by generation indicate that the site was used for just a few decades, providing new insights into shifting sedentary farming practices during the European Neolithic.