Archaeologists shocked to discover first women-centric community in Europe
Share:
Scientists analysed DNA from a set of burial grounds in Dorset. A female-centric order has been discovered for the first time in European prehistory after scientists analysed DNA from a set of burial grounds in Dorset. Geneticists from Trinity College Dublin, working with archaeologists from Bournemouth University, made the discovery by analysing the DNA from burial grounds in Winterborne Kingston, Dorset, which date back to the Roman conquest of AD43.
![[The burial of a young woman from Langton Herring sampled for DNA]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/15/03/01JHMCKPM7H871A1ECPNVMVJ50.jpeg)
After examining 50 genomes from the remains, they found the community was centred around a female line of descent. The study, published in the journal Nature, says this is the first time such a female-centric order has been found from European prehistory.
![[Archaeologists work on the burial site]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/15/12/01JHMCKSDXNJ631BTC492KWNSM.jpeg)
Dr Lara Cassidy, assistant professor at Trinity’s Department of Genetics, said: “This was the cemetery of a large kin group. “We reconstructed a family tree with many different branches and found most members traced their maternal lineage back to a single woman, who would have lived centuries before. In contrast, relationships through the father’s line were almost absent.
“This tells us that husbands moved to join their wives’ communities upon marriage, with land potentially passed down through the female line. “This is the first time this type of system has been documented in European prehistory and it predicts female social and political empowerment.
