The discovery of a 4,600-year-old grave containing a mother, father, and two sons in Germany provides the first evidence that the nuclear family existed in the Stone Age, a rather happy discovery except for one thing: They were murdered. The family, whose members were buried in each other's arms, is believed to have died in a massacre along with nine other bodies found nearby. One female skeleton had a stone projectile in her spine, another a fractured skull, and others had cuts on their hands and forearms, indicating self-defense. DNA testing confirms the relations in the four-person family, but this does not mean the nuclear family was the dominant social model at the time. Other evidence points to polygamous unions.
Read it at The Times of London
