The elucidation of kinship structure in past societies has been at the center of intra-group studies in archaeology and anthropology. However, the reconstruction of genetic relatedness in archaeological contexts has rarely been feasible. With the optimization of ancient DNA methods, it is now possible to obtain genome-wide data for multiple individuals from a single site, allowing for the reconstruction of biological relationships and shed light onto the demographic structure and social organization of prehistoric societies.

Here, I will present, on the behalf of our team, genome-wide data from the French Middle Neolithic site of Gurgy ‘les Noisats’. Based on extensive sampling and the use of a dedicated technique for low coverage genomes, we obtained data from 94 out of 128 individuals. Using a multi-proxy approach and following established and novel methods to determine biological relatedness, we were able to reconstruct two large pedigrees: one connecting 63 individuals over seven generations, and another with 12 individuals over four generations. From our combined data, we inferred a patrilocal and a likely patrilineal system, and the practice of female exogamy within a wide regional network. Strontium analyses confirmed the non-local origin of adult females but also revealed non-local signatures in the first-generation founders of the site.

These unprecedently large genealogies provide insights that go beyond the immediate genetic relatedness and allow us to study the group structure, its size, funerary and settlement practices in a much broader social and economic context.