Tracing Ancient Roots: How Iron Age Britain Centered on Women

Iron Age Communities Passed Land Through Maternal Lines

In a quiet corner of Dorset, a burial site has rewritten what we know about Iron Age Britain. By sequencing DNA from 50 individuals interred over centuries, researchers discovered¹ a striking social structure: women, not men, were at the heart of these communities.

Excavating a Late Iron Age Durotriges burial at Winterborne Kingston. Credit: Miles Russell…