A new study published in Science Advances challenges the long-standing assumption that medieval graves containing adults and children were family burials. Researchers from Stockholm University sequenced DNA from 142 individuals excavated at Sigtuna, Västerhus, and Fjälkinge in Sweden. Across these sites, close biological relatives were surprisingly uncommon among people interred together, even when the broader cemetery population showed many family connections.
The findings suggest that burial decisions were shaped by social, religious, or community factors rather than biological kinship alone. "We often assume that adults and children sharing a grave were parents and children or other close family members. In most cases, that was not what we found," said lead author Maja Krzewińska. Co-author Anna Kjellström noted that ancient DNA finally allowed direct testing of archaeological interpretations that had been debated for decades.
The genetic data also revealed how children were treated in early Christian burial practices. By determining biological sex from DNA—where bones were too immature for reliable identification—researchers found that boys and girls were placed in cemeteries following the same gendered patterns as adult men and women. At Västerhus, men and women were buried on opposite sides of the churchyard, and children followed the same division. The researchers interpret this as evidence that gender identity was recognized from an early age and reflected in funerary rites.
One exceptional case emerged from Västerhus: a woman researchers call "Lady 56." DNA connected her to her parents, brother, and two daughters, all buried in the same cemetery. Her grave also contained a scallop shell, a symbol associated with pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. While the shell does not prove she made the journey, the authors suggest she may have traveled thousands of kilometers across Europe before returning home to die before age 30. The study, according to the team, demonstrates how archaeogenetics can illuminate not just biological relationships but the social organization, religious customs, and life histories of medieval communities.