Genomic insights from a final Bronze Age community buried in a collective tumulus in an Urnfield settlement in Northeastern Iberia
The transition from the Bronze Age (BA) to the Iron Age (IA) on the Northeastern Iberian Peninsula is characterized by the emergence of cremation as the main funerary practice. Cultural attributes of a group, known as the Urnfield Culture, expanded from Central Europe to Northeastern Iberia during the Final Bronze Age (FBA), from ~1300 to ~850 cal BCE. Various hypotheses on the group's emergence exist, but cremations hinder DNA preservation. Here, we present genome-wide data from 24 inhumed individuals from a collective burial mound at the site of Los Castellets II (Spain), where inhumations and cremations co-occurred during the FBA, and one Early Iron Age (EIA) individual from Los Piojos (Spain). The results show that two source populations are required to explain the ancestry at Los Castellets II: one enriched in steppe-related ancestry and distantly related to Central European BA populations, and a second source similar to local Southeastern Iberian BA. Additionally, two-thirds of the individuals from the same collective tumulus were closely biologically related from 1st to >6th degree, with a man having the highest number of genetic relatives. We detected signs of inbreeding within the family group, all together suggesting the tumulus was used as a family mausoleum.
Authors
- Wolfgang Haak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2475-2007)
- Vanessa Villalba‐Mouco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9357-5238)
- Rodrigo Barquera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0518-4518)
- Marina Bretos Ezcurra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8907-1195)
- Roberto Risch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8534-5806)
- José Ignacio Royo Guillén (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5576-5073)
- Fabiola Gómez Lecumberri
- Jesús Vicente Picazo Millán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4726-819X)
- Adam B. Rohrlach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4204-5018)
- Johannes Krause (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9144-3920)
- Luka Papac (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9312-3226)
- Rafael Laborda Lorente
Institutions
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES)
- Universidad de Zaragoza (ES)
- International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (FR)
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DE)
- Instituto de Nanociencia y Materiales de Aragón (ES)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES)
- Gobierno de Aragón (ES)
- The University of Adelaide (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Biology
- Published
- 2025-08-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08668-7
- Primary Topic
- Forensic and Genetic Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- European Commission
- Generalitat de Catalunya
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Universidad de Zaragoza
- Max-Planck-Institut für Evolutionäre Anthropologie
- Gobierno de Aragón
- Ministerio de Asuntos Económicos y Transformación Digital, Gobierno de España
- Fundación Bancaria Ibercaja