1. Female sex bias in Iberian megalithic societies through bioarchaeology, aDNA and proteomics
- Author
-
Marta Díaz-Zorita Bonilla, Gonzalo Jiménez Aranda, Margarita Sánchez Romero, Rosa Fregel, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Fabian Kanz, Miriam Vílchez Suárez, Sonia Robles Carrasco, Paula Becerra Fuello, Alejandra C. Ordónez, Michael Wolf, Javier González Serrano, and Lara Milesi García
- Subjects
Megalithism ,Iberian Peninsula ,Funerary ritual ,Gender archaeology ,Amelogenin peptide ,Molecular sex ,Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Abstract Uncertainties regarding traditional osteological methods in biological sex estimation can often be overcome with genomic and proteomic analyses. The combination of the three methodologies has been used for a better understanding of the gender-related funerary rituals at the Iberian megalithic cemetery of Panoría. As a result, 44 individuals have been sexed including, for the first time, non-adults. Contrary to the male bias found in many Iberian and European megalithic monuments, the Panoría population shows a clear sex ratio imbalance in favour of females, with twice as many females as males. Furthermore, this imbalance is found regardless of the criterion considered: sex ratio by tomb, chronological period, method of sex estimation, or age group. Biological relatedness was considered as possible sociocultural explanations for this female-related bias. However, the current results obtained for Panoría are indicative of a female-centred social structure potentially influencing rites and cultural traditions.
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF