Genetic evidence has been identified for the first time showing that Silla society in the Three Kingdoms period had a far stronger kinship-centered structure than previously known. With traces of close-kin marriage and even indications of family-unit retainer sacrifice coming to light, interpretations of how the local ruling class of the time maintained internal cohesion are expected to change.
A joint team from Seoul National University, Yeungnam University, Sejong University, and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany announced on the 8th in the international journal Science Advances the results of analyzing the genomes of 78 ancient individuals excavated from the Imdang and Joyeong burial mounds in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang.
The families and marriage customs of ancient societies have long been inferred from texts and artifacts. But with advances in paleogenomic research that analyzes DNA from bones and teeth found at archaeological sites, it has become possible to reconstruct actual kinship ties among people thousands of years ago with greater precision. Still, there have been almost no full-scale genomic studies examining kinship and marriage customs in East Asia, particularly in ancient Korean society.
The Imdang and Joyeong burial mounds, those surveyed in this study, are known to have been created over roughly 100 years between the 4th and 6th centuries. More than 1,600 tombs and the remains of 259 individuals have been identified here. The researchers obtained paleogenomes from the remains of 78 individuals, including the tomb owners identified in the graves, and traced kinship among them.
The analysis identified 11 pairs of first-degree relatives and 23 pairs of second-degree relatives. In addition, more than 20 pairs appeared to be third-degree or more distant relatives. The results show that those buried in the burial complex were not simply members of the same local community, but were part of a vast kinship network entangled over many years.
Here, first-degree relatives refer to the closest ties, such as parents and children or full siblings. Second-degree relatives include grandparents and grandchildren, uncles and nieces or nephews, and half-siblings, while third-degree relatives refer to somewhat more distant blood relations, such as cousins.
The team also said they found results in the genomes of five individuals suggesting that their parents may have been close relatives. Notably, this pattern appeared not only in those presumed to be tomb owners but also among the retainer sacrifice victims buried with them. The researchers interpreted this as evidence supporting the possibility that endogamy within the group existed as a consistent practice at the time.
The study also offered noteworthy clues regarding the custom of retainer sacrifice. Among the retainer sacrifice group, a case in which a parent and child were buried together in the same tomb was genetically confirmed. The researchers described this as the first genetic demonstration of family-unit retainer sacrifice.
Based on these points, the team analyzed that the cemetery in question was likely not a simple communal burial space but a cemetery used across generations by a local ruling lineage. Cases in which immediate family members—such as parents and children or siblings—were identified together in the same or adjacent tombs indicate that the society of the time may have operated under a strong kinship-centered order. It is also possible, they noted, that the succession of political and social status was closely linked with such kinship-based networks and their consolidation.
However, the researchers added, "Because the number of individuals successfully analyzed genomically is limited compared with the total buried population, there are limits to generalizing these results to Silla society as a whole right away," and noted that "careful interpretation is needed."
Oh Ji-won, a professor in the Department of Anatomy at Yonsei University College of Medicine who was not involved in the study, said, "The very scale of reconstructing 78 individuals and 13 family pedigrees from a single site is a milestone in Korean archaeogenetics," and added, "If this extends to large royal tumuli in Gyeongju or to Goguryeo and Baekje regions, it is expected to provide a foundation to directly test the genetic reality of the bone-rank system and differences in marriage practices among the Three Kingdoms."
References
Science Advances (2026), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ady8614