Explore the LBK reference from Asparn-Schletz, its archaeological context and what ancient DNA reveals about the community.
📍 RegionAustria
🧬 Closest modern matchItalian Sardinia North (Sardinian)
⏳ Time periodLate Neolithic · c. 5600–4900 BC
Asparn-Schletz: early farmers and a violent end
Asparn-Schletz is not simply another early-farmer average: its settlement and massacre context makes questions of population size, kinship and violence central to interpretation.
A settlement in the LBK world
The Linearbandkeramik, usually abbreviated LBK, was associated with the spread of farming through large parts of central Europe. Asparn-Schletz in present-day Austria is one of the sites included in the 2024 study of social and genetic diversity among these early farmers.
World Genetics labels this group Late Neolithic LBK and records n=87. The period term is a database classification; the relevant archaeological phase should be checked in the publication rather than equated automatically with similarly named periods elsewhere in Europe.
The 2024 analysis found very few close relatives among the people sampled from the massacre context. The authors interpreted this as evidence for a large population rather than the destruction of a single small, tightly related household community. That conclusion depends on genetic kinship analysis, not simply on counting bodies.
This does not identify an attacker, establish a motive, or show that everyone buried at the site had the same social role. Those questions need archaeological and anthropological evidence in addition to DNA.
The same study found different genetic trajectories among eastern and western LBK groups, including differing levels of hunter-gatherer-related ancestry. Asparn-Schletz should therefore retain its site identity instead of being merged conceptually into a universal “Neolithic farmer” population.
Its comparatively large dataset label does not imply that every published Asparn-Schletz sample was retained in this coordinate average. The paper supplies the social-history context; individual identifiers are still required to establish exact membership, dates and relationships behind this particular reference.
What is Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz DNA closest to?
In the World Genetics modern G25 comparison, the closest non-self match for Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz is Italian Sardinia North (Sardinian). Other nearby references include Italian Sardinia (Sardinian), Italian Sardinia Sulcis-Iglesiente (Sardinian), Italian Sardinia Benetutti (Sardinian), and Corsican Corse-du-Sud. This gives the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz profile its nearest modern genetic context inside the current reference database.
Closest Matches
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What does Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz ancestry look like?
The ancestral breakdown below loads the best-fitting World Genetics calculator for the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz average. It should be read as a model of deep ancestry components, while the closest-match table is the better guide to which modern populations are most similar in G25 space.
Ancestral Breakdown
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Where is Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz DNA closest on the map?
The heatmap gives the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz profile a geographic shape. Warmer areas mark regions where available modern reference populations sit closer to the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz average, while cooler areas represent more distant matches.
What populations are genetically closest to Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz?
The closest non-self match in this World Genetics comparison is Italian Sardinia North (Sardinian). Other nearby references include Italian Sardinia (Sardinian), Italian Sardinia Sulcis-Iglesiente (Sardinian), Italian Sardinia Benetutti (Sardinian), and Corsican Corse-du-Sud.
Is Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz DNA closest to Italian Sardinia North (Sardinian)?
In the current modern G25 reference set, Italian Sardinia North (Sardinian) is the closest listed match to the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz average after removing Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz itself from the table.
What does the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz heatmap show?
The heatmap shows where modern reference populations are closer or farther from the Austria LN LBK Asparn Schletz G25 average, giving the closest-match results a geographic view.
