Genetic relatedness, social status and cemetery organisation: the Xiongnu Tamir necropolis, Mongolia

Abstract

Archaeologists are increasingly integrating the analysis of ancient DNA into cemetery studies; however, while such efforts highlight relatedness and descent, biological kinship forms only one aspect of social organisation in human societies. Here, the authors demonstrate this using the Tamir necropolis in Mongolia (100 BC–AD 100) as a case study. Employing a pipeline that combines linear discriminant analysis, machine-learning classifiers and cultural phylogenetics, they interrogate the cultural and social dynamics that structured the cemetery, disentangling the influence of genetic relatedness, social status and cultural tradition and offering a powerful framework for the investigation of social organisation in ancient populations.