第2576期:Women held keys to land and wealth in Celtic Britain

The most legendary Celtic woman was Boudica, the warrior queen who led a revolt against the Romans almost 2,000 years ago. But new analysis suggests she might have been the norm, not the exception.

最赫赫有名的凯尔特女性是布狄卡，这位女武士王后曾在近 2000 年前带头反抗罗马人的统治。但最新的分析结果显示，她所代表的女性统治者在当时可能是一种常态而非特例。

Archaeologists excavated 57 skeletons of people from the Durotriges tribe in Dorset. DNA sequencing of the genes passed from mother to daughter, compared to from father to son, revealed that most of the women were blood relatives. By contrast, the men were from lots of different communities, effectively outsiders. Dr Lara Cassidy, from Trinity College, Dublin, says this shows the society was matrilocal, meaning men moved to join their wives and families.

考古学家在多赛特郡挖掘出了属于杜罗特里吉部落成员的 57 具骨架。由母亲遗传给给女儿的基因的 DNA 测序结果与父亲遗传给儿子的相比，显示出大多数女性之间都具有血缘关系。而与普遍具有血缘关系的女性不同，男性则来自许多不同的家族，实际上都是血缘关系中的外来人。都柏林大学圣三一学院的劳拉·卡西迪博士说，这个研究结果显示出当时的社会有入赘的习俗，即男性会迁移以陪伴其妻子和家庭。

Inheriting land and wealth did not mean the daughters were political rulers, but they would have had significant influence. The scientists discovered the same DNA pattern in other Iron Age cemeteries. Perhaps Boudica was just one in a land of powerful women calling the shots at a time of great upheaval.

虽然继承土地和财富并不意味着女性后代会成为政治上的统治者，但她们可能有着显著的影响力。科学家们在其它铁器时代的墓葬中发现了相同的女性血缘更普遍的 DNA 遗传模式。也许在那段动荡的历史中，布狄卡只是在这片土地上做主的有权势的女性中的一员。