The DNA analysis of remains found at the Neolithic cemetery at Fleury-sur-Orne near Caen undertaken by a team of researchers associated with several institutions has led to an interesting finding. The analysis of DNA remains provides evidence of a patrilineal community.
The findings explained in a paper printed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides analysis of tissue obtained from bones in the long barrow graves and observations about the genetic makeup of communities who once lived in the area.
Earlier in the 1960s, a Neolithic cemetery was found at Fleury-sur-Orne near Caen based on pictures taken from aircraft. The cemetery is located at current Normandy in the northwest corner of France. The cemetery is discovered to be of long barrow grave type, wherein long channels are dug into the ground and then covered with adequate dirt to form a mound. The site where the cemetery is located covers nearly 24 hectares with barrows that 372 meters in length. Excavations at the site of the cemetery have been going since 2014. This has led researchers to uncover monuments and multiple barrow graves.
Meanwhile, earlier research suggest bodies found in the barrow to date back to nearly 4600 to 4300 BCE to make it among some of the oldest cemetery in Western Europe. The inhabitants of the area were known as Cerny culture.
Importantly, the new research was focused on remains of 19 skeletons found at the site, of which 14 were well preserved to allow DNA analysis. All skeletons except one were of deceased men. The DNA analysis showed people found in the barrow were not related except one pair of a father and son.