DOI: 10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f0h
title: Ancient DNA sheds light on the funerary practices of late Neolithic collective burial in southern France

description: The Aven de la Boucle (Corconne, Gard, Southern France) is a karst shaft
 used as a collective burial between 3,600 and 2,800 cal BCE. The site
 encompasses the skeletal remains of approximately 75 individuals
 comprising a large majority of adult individuals, represented by scattered
 and commingled remains. To date, few studies have explored the potential
 of ancient DNA to tackle the documentation of Neolithic collective
 burials, and the funerary selection rules within such structures remain
 largely debated. In this study, we combine genomic analysis of 37
 individuals with archaeo-anthropological data and bayesian modelling of
 radiocarbon dates. Through this multidisciplinary approach, we aim to
 characterize the identity of the deceased and their relationships, as well
 as untangle the genetic diversity and funerary dynamics of this
 community. Genomic results identify 76% of male Neolithic
 individuals, suggesting a marked sex-biased selection. Available data
 emphasize the importance of biological relatedness and a male-mediated
 transmission of social status, as the affiliation to a specific
 male-lineage appears as a preponderant selection factor. The genomic
 results argue in favor of “continuous” deposits between 3,600 and 2,800
 BCE, carried out by the same community, despite cultural changes reflected
 by the ceramic material.
description: # Ancient DNA sheds light on the funerary practices of late Neolithic
 collective burial in southern France
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f0h](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nvx0k6f0h) Genomic data from 26 Neolithic individuals and 3 Bronze Age individuals from the Aven de la Boucle collective burial (France) Raw sequenced data were obtained from half-UDG double-strand libraries sequenced on a NextSeq 500/550 High Output Kit v2.5 (2x75 Cycles) with dual barcoding. All data generated by Bayesian modelling for Models 1 and 2. ## Description of the data and file structure Organism: Homo sapiens **Genomic data:** Fastq from Shotgun sequencing (2 files: R1 and R2 for each samples): individuals BOU17,BOU20,BOU22,BOU24,BOU27-31,BOU34-36,BOU38-44 Fastq from Capture1240K (2 files: R1 and R2 for each samples):BOU2,BOU12,BOU13,BOU23,BOU25,BOU26,BOU32,BOU33,BOU37,BOU45 **BCL_bayesian-modelling:** One zip file (BCL_bayesian-modelling) with all data from the two Bayesian models: taking (BCL_M1) or not taking into account (BCL_M2) an individual (BOU32) whose 14C date and stratigraphic position suggest that the cave was used for funerary purposes during the Late Chasséen period. NA: not applicable **BCL_Tabl_SI_A_230331.xlsx** is a Microsoft Excel file containing the primary radiocarbon references and results with indication of the dated individuals (column A), the archaeological layers and locations (columns B, C, D), the laboratory references (column E) and the raw results of 14C measurements Before Present and standard deviation  (column F, G), the type of dated material (column H), the result quality score (column I) with reference to Binder et al., 2022, and the calibrated result Before Common Era (column J). **BCL_Tabl_SI_B_230331.xlsx** is a Microsoft Excel file containing the synthetic results of the Bayesian modelling with indication of the stratigraphic phases and genetic clusters (column A), the number of individuals per phase/cluster (column B), the Bayesian model considered (column C), the a posteriori start and end modes of the phases/clusters Before Common Era (column D) following Lanos & Dufresne, 2019, or, if not applicable, the highest a posteriori probability density Before Common Era (column E) for the phases/clusters including a single individual  **Folder BCL_M1** and **Folder BCL_M2 **contains the data corresponding to the two scenarios considered for the Bayesian modelling, namely : * Application files available for loading the La Boucle models with ChronoModel software, Lanos & Dufresne, 2019, (**BCL_M1_230404.chr**; **BCL_M1_230404.chr.cal**; **BCL_M2_230404.chr**; **BCL_M2_230404.chr.cal**). * The results (*i.e*., posterior density estimates) are based on ten thousand iterations for each dataset (MCMC method, Markov chain Monte Carlo) recorded in specific folders (**Folder BCL_M1_230404_results**; **Folder BCL_M2_230404_results**); the latter are given in the form of data files in CSV format (Chain-all-Events; Chain-all-Phases; Chain-name-of-Phase-Acronyme; Synthetic-Stats-Table) and HTML format (Log-MCMC-Initialization; Log-Model-Description; Log-Posterior-Distrib-Stats). For both models, the Bayesian a priori are illustrated by diagrams in jpeg format (**BCL_M1_230404_scene_events.jpg**, **BCL_M2_230404_scene_events.jpg**, **BCL_M1_230404_scene_phases.jpg**, **BCL_M2_230404_scene_phases.jpg**)\ For both models, the Bayesian a posteriori results are illustrated by diagrams in jpeg format (**BCL_M1_230404_results_phases.jpg**, **BCL_M1_230404_results_activity.jpg**, **BCL_M2_230404_results_phases.jpg**, **BCL_M2_230404_results_activity.jpg**). Specifically for model 2, the construction of Bayesian a priori is given in a synthetic figure in PNG format (**Figure_Modele2_Annexes.png**) and a folder includes the results of the activity traces for each phase/cluster in CSV format (Folder BCL_M2_230404_traces). **References:** Binder et al., 2022 BINDER D., MANEN C. (2022) - Céramiques imprimées de Méditerranée occidentale (VIe millénaire AEC) : données, approches et enjeux nouveaux / Western Mediterranean Impressed Wares (6th millennium BCE): New data, approaches and challenges. Actes de la séance de la Société préhistorique française de Nice (mars 2019), Paris, Société préhistorique française (Séances de la Société préhistorique française, 18), 391 p. Lanos & Dufresne, 2019, ChronoModel version 2.0: Software for Chronological Modelling of Archaeological Data using Bayesian Statistics. Available from [https://chronomodel.com](https://chronomodel.com)