• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
Archaeology News
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum
Archaeology News
No Result
View All Result
Home News Anthropology

Archaeologists uncover gender bias in 5,600-year-old Panoria necropolis: twice as many women buried as men

by Dario Radley
October 3, 2024

A new discovery at the Panoría megalithic necropolis in Granada, Spain, has revealed a striking gender imbalance in ancient burials, suggesting that the region may have had a female-centered social structure.

Archaeologists uncover gender bias in 5,600-year-old Panoria necropolis: twice as many women buried as men
Orthophotography with the location of the 9 excavated tombs at Panoría cemetery. Credit: DZ.B. Marta et al. Sci Rep (2024)

A multidisciplinary research team, led by the Archaeometry group from the University of Tübingen and the GEA group from the University of Granada, unearthed a significant finding: twice as many women were buried as men. This imbalance is particularly stark among juveniles, where the ratio is a remarkable 10 females for every male.

The Panoría necropolis, located in Darro at the easternmost end of Sierra Harana, consists of at least 19 graves, nine of which were excavated between 2015 and 2019. These collective burial sites have yielded over 55,000 skeletal remains. Radiocarbon dating suggests the first burials took place around 5600 years ago, with the site being used intermittently until about 4100 years ago.

What makes this discovery particularly noteworthy is the use of advanced bioarchaeological methods, which allowed researchers to accurately determine the chromosomal sex of the individuals buried in these graves. This was done through the analysis of DNA and a protein known as amelogenin, found in tooth enamel, which provides reliable sex identification. In this study, published in Scientific Reports, scientists were able to create the first precise demographic profile of the biological sex of the people buried at the site.

Archaeologists uncover gender bias in 5,600-year-old Panoria necropolis: twice as many women buried as men
Human bone remains from Tomb 11 at the Panoría megalithic necropolis. Credit: DZ.B. Marta et al. Sci Rep (2024)

The results uncovered a clear bias in favor of female burials, a deviation from the typical human population ratio of approximately 1:1. As Professor María Dolores Fernández of the University of Granada explained to LBV Magazine, “The Panoría population shows a clear sex ratio imbalance in favor of females, with twice as many females as males.” The skew was consistent across all age groups and persisted throughout the site’s millennia of use, leading researchers to rule out short-term or isolated events like conflicts, wars, or migration as possible causes.

RelatedStories

4,500-year-old dog tooth–adorned bags unearthed in Germany reveal burial practices of Neolithic elites

4,500-year-old dog tooth–adorned bags unearthed in Germany reveal burial practices of Neolithic elites

July 14, 2025
DNA reveals female-centered society in 9,000-year-old Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük

DNA reveals female-centered society in 9,000-year-old Neolithic city of Çatalhöyük

June 29, 2025

Instead, the researchers suggest that this gender bias may reflect long-standing social practices rooted in a matrilineal society. In such societies, family lineage and social belonging are determined through the maternal line. This could explain the dominance of female burials at the site and the relative absence of young males, who may have left to join other kin groups—a practice known as male exogamy. The consistency of this bias across time and grave sites indicates that it was a deliberate social choice, rather than the result of random or extraordinary events.

Archaeologists uncover gender bias in 5,600-year-old Panoria necropolis: twice as many women buried as men
Human bone remains from Tomb 10. Credit: DZ.B. Marta et al. Sci Rep (2024)

The findings point to the possibility that Panoría was home to a female-centered social structure, where gender played a significant role in shaping funerary customs and cultural traditions.

This discovery suggests that women may have held a central place both in life and in death. While the exact reasons for this bias remain unclear, the evidence points toward deeply ingrained cultural practices that prioritized women in the community’s funerary rituals.

More information: Marta, DZ.B., Gonzalo, A.J., Margarita, S.R. et al. (2024). Female sex bias in Iberian megalithic societies through bioarchaeology, aDNA and proteomics. Sci Rep 14, 21818. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-72148-x
Share1Tweet1ShareShareSend

You May Also Like...

900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney
Archaeology

900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney

July 30, 2025
Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa's Duke monument in Ukraine. Credit: Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University
Archaeology

Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa’s Duke monument in Ukraine

July 29, 2025
Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory
Anthropology

Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory

July 29, 2025
5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat
Archaeology

5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

July 28, 2025
250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel
Archaeology

250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel

July 28, 2025
AI tool helps scholars restore and decode ancient Roman inscriptions with missing words
Archaeology

AI tool helps scholars restore and decode ancient Roman inscriptions with missing words

July 27, 2025

Follow us


Instagram
246K

Facebook
112K

Threads
43K

LinkedIn
13K

Twitter
6K

YouTube
1K
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Shipwreck Salvage. Credit: rawpixel.com / Public Domain

2,000-year-old shipwreck discovered off Turkish coast with remarkably preserved stacked ceramics

July 2, 2025
Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

Viking age DNA reveals 9,000-year-old HIV-resistant gene originating near the Black Sea

May 18, 2025
Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

Mad emperor Caligula had surprising medical knowledge, new research reveals from ancient Roman texts

July 13, 2025
600-year-old amethyst jewel found in Polish castle moat reveals secrets of medieval nobility

600-year-old amethyst jewel found in Polish castle moat reveals secrets of medieval nobility

July 21, 2025
Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” 125,000 years ago on German lakeshore, study finds

Neanderthals operated prehistoric “fat factory” 125,000 years ago on German lakeshore

July 3, 2025
$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

$1 million prize offered to decipher 5,300-year-old Indus Valley script

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Oldest ever genetic data from a human relative found in 2-million-year-old fossilized teeth

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

Exceptionally large Roman shoes discovered at Magna fort near Hadrian’s Wall

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius' eruption

A 21-year-old student successfully deciphered the first word from the Herculaneum scrolls, charred during Mount Vesuvius’ eruption

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

New evidence reveals the source of mercury in the mausoleum of the first Qin emperor

900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney

900-year-old Viking-era carved head unearthed in Orkney

July 30, 2025
Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa's Duke monument in Ukraine. Credit: Southern Ukrainian National Pedagogical University

Archaeologists uncover 14th-century Genoese and Ottoman fortresses beneath Odesa’s Duke monument in Ukraine

July 29, 2025
Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory

Neanderthals ate maggots and fermented meat, not just fresh meat, challenging hypercarnivore theory

July 29, 2025
5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

5,500-year-old flint workshop uncovered near Kiryat Gat

July 28, 2025
250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel

250-year-old shipwreck in Orkney identified as Earl of Chatham, a former Royal Navy and whaling vessel

July 28, 2025

Archaeology News online magazine

Archaeology News is an international online magazine that covers all aspects of archaeology.











Categories

  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • Download
  • Game
  • News
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Paleontology
  • Quiz
  • Tours

Subscribe to our newsletter

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved.

  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Donation
  • Contact

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
  • Home
  • News
    • Archaeology
    • Anthropology
    • Paleontology
  • Academics
    • Books
    • Conferences
    • Universities
  • Articles
  • VR Tours
  • Quiz & Game
  • Download
  • Encyclopedia
  • Forum

About  .  Contact  .  Donation

© 2024 - Archaeology News Online Magazine. All Rights Reserved