An age-specific burial practice reflected in ancient DNA preservation in Neolithic Çatalhöyük

Abstract

Selective funerary practices can inform about social relationships in prehistoric societies but are often difficult to discern. Here we present evidence for an age-specific practice at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in Anatolia, dating to the 7th millennium BCE. Among ancient DNA libraries produced from 362 petrous bone samples, those of subadults contained three times higher average human DNA than those of adults. This difference in organic preservation was also confirmed by FTIR analysis. Studying similar datasets from seven prehistoric and historical sites, we found a similar age-related difference in only one cemetery. We propose that the organic preservation difference with age was caused by the special treatment of chosen corpses before interment, such as defleshing or drying, which was more frequently applied to Çatalhöyük adults and promoted organic decay.