“In this study,” corresponding author Ron Pinhasi explains, “we report for the first time that families at the study sites of Nitra in Slovakia and Polgár-Ferenci-hát in Hungary do not differ in terms of the foods they consumed, the grave goods they were buried with, or their origins. This suggests that the people living in these Neolithic sites were not stratified on the basis of family or biological sex, and we do not detect signs of inequality, understood as differential access to resources or space.”

Brutality in ancient times

The LBK culture came to an end around 5000 BCE, and various hypotheses have been proposed regarding its collapse. Some suggest that it was a period of social and economic crisis, often associated with episodes of widespread violence. One of the most famous events is the Massacre of Asparn-Schletz (Lower Austria), where more than 100 individuals were recovered from a ditch system.