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A team of experts examined the remains of 35 people – in one of the best-preserved stone tombs in the UK – and found that 27 belonged to five generations of the same family.
Chris Fowler, an archaeologist at the University of Newcastle, was “surprised” by the discovery of the tomb. More than 5,700 years. The research work allowed researchers to clarify the lineage of some of the country’s first farmers.
Most of the bodies analyzed were from the same but four women who had given birth.
“Hazelton North Long” is the name given to the tomb, according to The Guardian. Divides into two “L” shaped rooms. The survey revealed that people are buried there according to the woman of their descent. This finding demonstrates that women were a socially significant link to this community.
The remains unearthed belong to a group of people who lived between 3700 – 3600 BC and are believed to have been buried. Livestock and grain cultivation were discovered in Europe 100 years later.
According to Fowler, “Descendants are important [para a comunidade]. The tombs were built and they had to decide who should be buried, first they selected the close relatives of those buried there.
The concept of family is important to this community because we can see very small children being buried in cemeteries, ”the archaeologist concluded, quoting The Guardian.
