The oldest legends represent them as figures with the right to dispose of the fertility of the earth, alliances between clans and the organization of sacred cults. A Kings of the gods in Ireland They did not limit themselves to management: they intervened in the ceremony, which united the political with the spiritual, served as intermediaries between man and supernatural, and their origin was considered necessary for the balance of the territoryField
In some stories, they were guardians of hereditary knowledge, and their figure was associated with certain landscapes, such as hills or rivers where they were paid for offers. This is a vision associated with Celtic mythology And is repeated for centuries, this has influenced how certain archaeological results are associated with NeolithicField
New research to make out the idea of hereditary power
The theory that one of these alleged sacred kings could be buried Newgrange It quickly expanded after a genetic analysis published in 2020 by the magazine NatureThe test was discovered The consangerity of the first graduateor in the remains of an adult man identified as NG10Whose parents were most likely brothers. The discovery had a strong influence, because this type of mating was documented only in cultures, where the union between direct relatives was part of the dynastic structure, as in Ancient EgyptField
However, a new study coordinated by the University of Dublin College and published by the magazine Antiquity Completely disassemble this interpretation. The team, consisting of archaeologists from Ireland, Norway, Australia and the United Kingdom, crossed DNA, the location of the burial remains and models throughout the island, reaching the opposite conclusion: NG10 was exceptional, isolated and a connection with any dynastic eliteThe field according to this analysis, the Neolithic community in which he lived did not follow a centralized hierarchical model.
The same report reminds that fragments of the bone attributed to the NG10 were scattered, and that the changes incurred by the tomb over the past three centuries
Jessica SmithAssociate Professor of the Department of Archeology at the University College Dublin, explains in Living science This “in the archaeological record of Neolithic Ireland there is nothing that indicates that at that time there are kings or some form of a real hierarchy.”
The most adjusted image of evidence is an egalitarian and agricultural society
The monumentality of NewGrange, built about 3100 a. C., contributed to the nutrition of the theory of privileged burials. But a genetic analysis carried out in similar tombs from other regions of the country They did not find equivalent family relationsWhich strengthens the idea that the case of the NG10 does not represent any social norm of that time. In addition, children, elderly people, adults with disabilities and women were revealed in the same imputation, which suggests Collective funeral functionNot limited to the dominant caste.
Smith also indicates the article Antiquity that the most common burial place in the Irish Neolithic was From great megalithic monumentsAlthough the criterion that has determined the entrance to these graves of the runner is still unknown. According to him: “It is obvious that not the entire community was buried in these graves, but we do not know the criteria that determined who gained access to them.”
Another aspect that enhances the thesis of a new study is fragmentation From the remains of the found. In the case of NewGrange, the bones were divided, some were burned, while others may have been transferred from other places before staying in the mound. This practice complicates the idea of constant burial, which means a special status. Smith details in the same work that “the last place of recreation of most people in the Neolithic was not a megalithic monument.”
Far from mythological stories, an imposed image, this is an agricultural society organized in public groups where resources were divided, and decisions were made collectively. Although some people can take leadership positions or ritual direction, research He did not find evidence of the inherited ruling classTherefore, the label of the King of God, applied to NG10 for His family origin and its grave, loses weight, since the analysis structure expands with a large number of samples and context.
