The Not Very Patrilocal European Neolithic

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2021: General Sessions" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Two decades of strontium isotope and aDNA research on Central European Neolithic cemetery populations have consistently interpreted patrilocality, which is now a foregone conclusion. This paper questions those interpretations from a social anthropological perspective. Models are presented for interpreting strontium isotope ratios and aDNA that consider the intersections of descent, residence, and postmortem location. The reassessment of published data from Linderbandkeramik settlements and mass graves suggest widespread bilocality and bilateral descent. Some cases exhibit matrilocal/uxorilocal biases and others patrilocal/virilocal biases. Empirical archaeological kinship analyses independently confirm bilateral descent. Rather than the anticipated ubiquitous bilocal residential groups, various residential practices were negotiated within each occupation phase of each settlement examined. Bilocal, matrilocal, neolocal, semi-matrilocal, and semi-patrilocal groups were all common. Groups changed intergenerational strategies. No patrilocal groups are detected. From a social anthropological perspective, Neolithic Central European kinship was flexible, fluid, and decidedly not patrilocal.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• SAA 2021: General Sessions

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32143