Researchers: Female Family Ties Important to Social Networks
2025-01-23
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1A recent study suggests that female family ties were central to social networks in ancient Celtic society before the Roman invasion.
2Genetic evidence from a late Iron Age cemetery in Britain shows that women were closely related.
3At the same time, unrelated men were more likely to come into the community from other places, likely after marriage.
4For the study, researchers examined ancient DNA from 57 burial places in Dorset in southwestern England.
5People used the cemetery from around 2100 years ago to around 1800 years ago.
6The results showed that two-thirds of the individuals descended from a single maternal lineage.
7Lara Cassidy of Trinity College Dublin was one of the study's co-writers.
8Cassidy suggested to the Associated Press (AP) that the results were surprising, or in her words, "jaw-dropping."
9She said that such a finding had "never been observed before in European prehistory."
10The study appeared recently in the scientific publication Nature.
11The research suggests that women stayed in the same circles throughout life.
12They kept social networks and likely inherited or managed land and property.
13Cassidy told the AP that the findings suggest, "it's your husband who is coming in as a relative stranger, dependent on a wife's family for land and livelihood."
14Such a way of living is called matrilocality.
15The researchers said it is historically rare.
16Guido Gnecchi-Ruscone is with the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Gnecchi-Ruscone was not part of the study.
17He said researchers studying burial places in Britain and Europe have only discovered the opposite behavior.
18He said in those communities, women left their homes and families to join their husband's family group.
19He said such a way of living, known as patrilocality, has been observed in other ancient time periods.
20These include the Neolithic period which started more than 10,000 years ago to the early Medieval period more than 1000 years in the past.
21Cassidy said in studies of pre-industrial societies from around 220 years ago to the present, researchers found that men join their wives' extended family households only eight percent of the time.
22But researchers already knew there was something special about the role of women in Iron Age Britain.
23A group of tribes with closely related languages and art that is often described as Celtic lived in England before the Roman invasion about 2000 years ago.
24Valuable objects have been found buried with Celtic women.
25Roman writers, including Julius Caesar, wrote with disrespect about their relative independence and fighting abilities.
26The network of strong female family connections that the researchers found does not necessarily mean that women also held official positions of political power.
27Study co-writer Miles Russell of Bournemouth University in England researches ancient societies.
28He said the findings do suggest that women had some control of land and property and strong social support.
29Such a situation made Britain's Celtic society more "egalitarian" than the Roman world, Russell said.
30I'm John Russell.
1A recent study suggests that female family ties were central to social networks in ancient Celtic society before the Roman invasion. 2Genetic evidence from a late Iron Age cemetery in Britain shows that women were closely related. At the same time, unrelated men were more likely to come into the community from other places, likely after marriage. 3For the study, researchers examined ancient DNA from 57 burial places in Dorset in southwestern England. People used the cemetery from around 2100 years ago to around 1800 years ago. 4The results showed that two-thirds of the individuals descended from a single maternal lineage. 5Lara Cassidy of Trinity College Dublin was one of the study's co-writers. Cassidy suggested to the Associated Press (AP) that the results were surprising, or in her words, "jaw-dropping." 6She said that such a finding had "never been observed before in European prehistory." 7The study appeared recently in the scientific publication Nature. 8The research suggests that women stayed in the same circles throughout life. They kept social networks and likely inherited or managed land and property. 9Cassidy told the AP that the findings suggest, "it's your husband who is coming in as a relative stranger, dependent on a wife's family for land and livelihood." 10Such a way of living is called matrilocality. The researchers said it is historically rare. 11Guido Gnecchi-Ruscone is with the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Gnecchi-Ruscone was not part of the study. 12He said researchers studying burial places in Britain and Europe have only discovered the opposite behavior. He said in those communities, women left their homes and families to join their husband's family group. 13He said such a way of living, known as patrilocality, has been observed in other ancient time periods. These include the Neolithic period which started more than 10,000 years ago to the early Medieval period more than 1000 years in the past. 14Cassidy said in studies of pre-industrial societies from around 220 years ago to the present, researchers found that men join their wives' extended family households only eight percent of the time. 15But researchers already knew there was something special about the role of women in Iron Age Britain. A group of tribes with closely related languages and art that is often described as Celtic lived in England before the Roman invasion about 2000 years ago. 16Valuable objects have been found buried with Celtic women. Roman writers, including Julius Caesar, wrote with disrespect about their relative independence and fighting abilities. 17The network of strong female family connections that the researchers found does not necessarily mean that women also held official positions of political power. 18Study co-writer Miles Russell of Bournemouth University in England researches ancient societies. He said the findings do suggest that women had some control of land and property and strong social support. Such a situation made Britain's Celtic society more "egalitarian" than the Roman world, Russell said. 19I'm John Russell. 20Christina Larson reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 21____________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23cemetery - n. a burial ground 24descended from -v. (phrasal) to be related by birth to an ancestor 25maternal - adj. of or related to the mother 26lineage - n. a group of individuals descending from a common ancestor 27inherit -v. to receive property or something of value because of a family relationship 28manage -v. to oversee or look over 29extended family - n. a large group of people who are related by blood or marriage who consider themselves as a large family 30egalitarian -adj. aiming to make people in a society more equal than they are