Gurgy "les Noisats": genetics reconstructs a Neolithic family

A large-scale genomic study

In recent years, methods for analysing ancient DNA have advanced considerably. They now make it possible to extract genomic data for several dozen individuals from the same human group, where only a few were obtainable until recently. DNA preserved in ancient bones is however fragmented and often degraded, which calls for rigorous protocols and contamination controls.

At Gurgy, the study covered a large share of the people buried in the cemetery. This rare set of data gives a precise view of the internal structure of a community settled at the end of the middle Neolithic, a period when agro-pastoral societies were becoming established in Western Europe and exchanges between groups were growing.

Two genealogies and descent through men

The researchers reconstructed two large genealogies from this data. The larger spans seven generations and brings together 63 individuals, making it one of the most extensive kinship trees ever established for this period. Both families rest on a single paternal lineage, a sign of a patrilineal system in which descent is passed down through men.

This arrangement goes hand in hand with patrilocal residence: once married, women settled in their husband's group. The analyses also point to female exogamy, with wives coming from other communities. Notably, they were not related to one another, suggesting that marriage alliances formed part of a wide regional network.

Non-local origins from the founders onward

Strontium isotope analyses support this finding. Present in soils and then passed into the body through food, this element becomes fixed in tooth enamel and retains a geographic signature that indicates where a person grew up. It appears that adult women did not spend their childhood on site.

More surprisingly, the same method reveals a non-local signature in the earliest founding generations of the site. The group therefore does not seem to have descended from a purely indigenous population, but from a mix of diverse origins from the moment it was established, which invites a rethinking of how Neolithic communities formed.

A cemetery organised by kinship

Biological kinship also sheds light on the spatial organisation of the necropolis. The dead appear grouped by chronology and by nuclear family, suggesting that the arrangement of graves reflected specific social ties rather than a simple choice of location.

These same kinship relations also offered a new way of addressing how long the site was occupied. By reconstructing the succession of generations, the researchers have a reference point beyond stratigraphy or grave goods alone, which refines the chronology of the settlement.

A tool for understanding prehistoric societies

The Gurgy case belongs to a body of work that makes paleogenetics a central tool for grasping the social structures of prehistory. It shows that older excavations can still yield new information when re-examined with recent methods.

To extend the discovery into the field, the PréhistoSite de Brassempouy (Landes) is offering a day devoted to paleogenetics on 15 November 2026, with a final site visit, a DNA extraction workshop for ages 12 and up, and a lecture by Maïté Rivollat at 4 p.m. The museum and the ArchéoParc also place these questions in the context of the region's earliest societies.