Yorkshire Philosophical Society

Event Information

Ancient DNA and Kinship Analysis at the Iron Age Cemetery of Wetwang Slack, East Yorkshire

Professor Ian Armit. Department of Archaeology, University of York

Wetwang Slack, in East Yorkshire, is the largest Iron Age cemetery in Britain with around 450 excavated burials, including three rich chariot graves. Recent advances in ancient DNA analysis have made it possible to analyse the genomes of the buried population in order to explore biological relationships between individuals. This has revealed an intricate network of family relations over ten generations, with a strong emphasis on descent through the female line. This lecture explores the kinship structure of this Iron Age society.

The winners of the 2024 Charles Wellbeloved and Herman Ramm awards to University of York Archaeology Department students will be announced at the beginning of the lecture. 

7pm in the Tempest Anderson Lecture Theatre in the Yorkshire Museum