Genetic and historical perspectives on the early medieval inhumations from Menga Dolmen, Antequera (Spain)

AI interpretationAI-generated

Two medieval burials inside a Neolithic dolmen reveal unexpected paternal lineages.

Researchers sequenced DNA from two individuals buried in the atrium of Menga Dolmen, a Neolithic monument in Antequera, Spain, radiocarbon dated to the 8th-11th centuries CE. Both were laid along the dolmen's symmetry axis, suggesting deliberate reuse of this ancient site. The study combines genetics and history to understand who these people were and why they were buried in such a monumental prehistoric structure long after its construction.

• Both individuals date to the early medieval period (8th-11th centuries CE), thousands of years after the dolmen was built in the 4th millennium BCE.
• They were buried in the atrium aligned with the dolmen's axis of symmetry, indicating intentional and structured reuse of the monument.
• Paternal lineages were resolved for both: one carried Y-haplogroup R-A228 and the other R-BY3209, both subclades of haplogroup R.

Sample interpretation

Only two individuals were analyzed, both from the same context within Menga Dolmen. Y-chromosome haplogroups were successfully resolved for both: R-A228 and R-BY3209. Maternal lineages were also identified: mitochondrial haplogroups V and N. The small sample size means these results are preliminary and cannot represent broader medieval populations of the region.

For genealogy enthusiasts

For ancestry enthusiasts, this study shows how ancient DNA can uncover the medieval reuse of a Neolithic monument. The R-haplogroups and mtDNA V/N add small but concrete data points to the genetic landscape of early medieval Iberia, though conclusions remain limited by the tiny sample.