A new study analyzed DNA from 10 skeletons buried between 6350-4810 BC at two archaeological sites in France – Téviec and Hoedic. These sites contain many well-preserved skeletons from the time when Europe transitioned from hunter-gatherer to farming societies.
The DNA showed the individuals were genetically similar to other Western European hunter-gatherers, with no evidence of mixing with early farming groups in the region.
Surprisingly, people buried together were not closely biologically related, with most related pairs being third-degree relatives like cousins.
This suggests hunter-gatherer groups developed cultural strategies to avoid inbreeding, despite their small population sizes and isolation from larger groups.
One burial contained an unrelated female adult and young girl, indicating strong social bonds not based on biological kinship were still important after death.
The findings provide evidence of more sophisticated social organization and boundaries among hunter-gatherers to maintain genetic diversity, countering views of them as more primitive societies.
Source: livescience
