It runs in the family: kinship analysis using foot anomalies in the cemetery of Middenbeemster (Netherlands, 17th to 19th century)

In bioarchaeology, the universal concept of “kinship” can be explored through the study of archaeological remains and as such offers a way to connect modern-day life to the life of past people. This study examines the social structure of post-medieval Dutch communities and their level of genetic homogeneity and inter-relatedness. The research aims were to identify probable genetic relatives within the Middenbeemster skeletal collection through developmental foot anomalies and to analyze the spatial structure of the Middenbeemster cemetery in the context of intracemetery kinship relations. Three hundred eighty individuals from four different skeletal collections were examined for the presence of fourteen non-metric traits, selected on various criteria (e.g., heritability). The Middenbeemster trait frequencies were compared with those of a reference sample of the post-medieval Dutch population (consisting of individuals from the Dutch post-medieval collections of Arnhem, Eindhoven, and Zwolle). A hypothetical kinship group could be identified when the trait frequencies of the Middenbeemster sample were considerably higher than those in the reference sample. Other sources had only limited validation value in relation to the hypothesis. Visual examination and spatial statistics of the distribution of the hypothetical kinship group revealed a possible patrilineally structured cemetery, although this is based on a small sample. By putting the observed trait frequencies in a broader context, the data suggested a rather high inter-relatedness of the Middenbeemster community. It also exposed the need for a better understanding of the used traits and perhaps a different approach to kinship analysis (due to necessarily large time investment in contrast to limited results). In conclusion, this study gave an insight into the social structure of post-medieval Dutch communities. Future improvements to kinship analysis may not only be beneficial for bioarchaeology, but also for other fields such as forensic anthropology.