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DNA Study Reveals Hereditary 'Sacrificial Caste' in Ancient Korea
Researchers analyzed 78 skeletons and found 11 first-degree and 23 second-degree relatives, pointing to a maternal kinship network in Silla burials.
- On Wednesday, researchers published a study in Science Advances analyzing DNA from 78 skeletons in Gyeongsan, South Korea, confirming Silla Kingdom elites and sacrificed individuals practiced "consanguineous" marriage.
- Excavated from the Imdang-Joyeong burial complex, the remains date to the Three Kingdoms period between the 4th and 6th centuries, when society practiced "sunjang" rituals honoring royalty.
- Genomic data reconstructed 13 family trees, revealing entire households in Gyeongsan were sacrificed as "retainers" to honor Silla royalty about 1,500 years ago, according to the analysis.
- Evidence suggests a "sacrificial caste" existed in Silla, with families inheriting roles to serve the elite across consecutive generations, according to researchers.
- Jack Davey, director of the Early Korean Studies Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, told Live Science the findings raise profound questions about institutionalized violence and social mobility in the 1,500-year-old kingdom.
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8 Articles
Scientists have learned that 1,500 years ago people who lived in the territory of modern South Korea sacrificed entire families and made such sacrifices in honour of the local royal family. A genetic study has also shown a dense system of kinship focused on women and their descendants, as reported by Live Science. VAC ZAINTERSUET A CHANGES the image of Britain of the iron age: Archaeologists found an ancient treasure. In the course of the study,…
Ancient Korea had people from ‘sacrificial caste’ killed to please royalty, skeletons reveal
Ancient Royal Burials in Korea Reveal Possible Family SacrificesA major new genetic study of human remains from southeastern South Korea suggests that entire families may have been sacrificed and buried alongside elites during the era of the Silla Kingdom. The findings come from analysis of skeletons discovered in the burial complex at Gyeongsan.Researchers describe the evidence as some of the strongest scientific support yet for ritual human sa…
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