Female lineages and changing kinship patterns in Neolithic Çatalhöyük

Abstract

Ancient DNA has played an important role in archeological studies in recent years, particularly in assigning chromosomal sex to remains to aid in understanding historic sociological structures. A pair of studies now present an analysis of stable isotopes and skeletal remains from 395 ancient individuals who lived 8000 to 5800 BCE, from whom DNA from 131 individuals could be sequenced (see the Perspective by Arbuckle). Yüncü et al. found that kinship patterns changed over time in this settlement, but individuals from the same houses or nearby ones were primarily related through the maternal line. In a broader geographic sampling, Koptekin et al. describe population dynamics, including the spread of cultural practices without admixture. —Corinne Simonti