Women were at the centre of social networks in Iron Age Britain

Nature ^ | January 15, 2025 | Guido Alberto Gnecchi-Ruscone

[SunkenCiv]

Evidence from 2,000-year-old DNA reveals that women in Celtic society stayed in their ancestral communities after marriage, whereas men were mobile, and that the southern coast of Britain was a hotspot for cultural exchange.

Marriage practices, particularly those that define where spouses live (and die) after marriage, are fundamental to human societies. These patterns shape perceptions of family, tribe and clan, influence community belonging and regulate land ownership. Anthropologists have long studied such practices globally, finding that patrilocality — in which a married woman moves to her male partner's community — is the most common. However, it remains unknown how deeply rooted these systems are in human societies, and how they might have changed through time, particularly during prehistoric periods. Past social customs are often forgotten or marginally recorded in written sources. Writing in Nature, Cassidy et al.1 analyse the genomes of around 50 individuals buried in southern Britain's Iron Age cemetery at Winterborne Kingston in Dorset, unlocking a long-forgotten history.

[Albion Wilde]

And oh, by the way: