Published January 1, 2025 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Female lineages and changing kinship patterns in Neolithic Çatalhöyük

  • 1. Middle East Tech Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Ankara, Turkiye
  • 2. Middle East Tech Univ, Grad Sch Informat, Dept Hlth Informat, Ankara, Turkiye
  • 3. Univ Copenhagen, Dept Cross Cultural & Reg Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 4. Adam Mickiewicz Univ, Inst Human Biol & Evolut, Fac Biol, PL-61614 Poznan, Poland
  • 5. Koc Univ, Dept Archaeol & Hist Art, Istanbul, Turkiye
  • 6. Univ Liverpool, Dept Archaeol Class & Egyptol, Liverpool, England
  • 7. Hacettepe Univ, Dept Anthropol, Human G Lab, TR-06800 Ankara, Turkiye
  • 8. Middle East Tech Univ, Dept Settlement Archaeol, Ankara, Turkiye
  • 9. Hacettepe Univ, Dept Pediat Metab, Ankara, Turkiye
  • 10. Columbia Univ, Dept Anthropol, New York, NY USA

Description

Combining 131 paleogenomes with bioarchaeological and archaeological data, we studied social organization and gendered practices in & Ccedil;atalh & ouml;y & uuml;k East Mound (7100 to 5950 BCE), a major Neolithic settlement in Central Anatolia. In early & Ccedil;atalh & ouml;y & uuml;k, burials in the same building were frequently close genetic relatives, suggesting that houses were used by biological family members. In later periods, however, individuals buried in the same building were often genetically unrelated, despite sharing similar diets. We found no indication of sex-biased mobility into & Ccedil;atalh & ouml;y & uuml;k. Meanwhile, in all periods, within-building genetic connections were predominantly maternal rather than paternal. Burials of female subadults also received a higher frequency of gifts than male subadults. Our results reveal how kinship practices changed while specific practices prioritizing female lines persisted for 1000 years at Neolithic & Ccedil;atalh & ouml;y & uuml;k.

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