Explore the LBK cemetery at Derenburg-Meerenstieg and its contribution to research on the arrival of farming in central Europe.
📍 RegionGermany
🧬 Closest modern matchItalian Sardinia North (Sardinian)
⏳ Time periodEarly Neolithic · c. 5600–4900 BC
Derenburg-Meerenstieg: a cemetery of early farmers
Derenburg-Meerenstieg is a site-specific early-farmer reference from central Germany. Its research history also illustrates how ancient-DNA methods developed from lineage markers to broader genomic comparisons.
The cemetery and the farming transition
Derenburg-Meerenstieg II lies in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and was excavated in campaigns during 1997–1999. Its LBK cemetery offered a direct view of people living near the beginning of farming in central Europe, rather than relying only on present-day populations to reconstruct that transition.
The cultural association links the site to the Linear Pottery tradition. It does not mean that farming, pottery style, spoken language and ancestry were a single inseparable package in every LBK settlement.
The 2010 study generated new mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal data from 21 individuals and reported affinities with Near Eastern populations. Combined analyses also incorporated earlier data, so sample counts differ between analytical subsets. The findings supported a role for migration in the emergence of European farming communities. These lineage markers trace only particular maternal or paternal lines, not a person’s complete ancestry.
The current World Genetics label records n=28, a different count from that early study. That difference should remain visible: the historical publication is context for the site, not proof that this G25 average reproduces its original dataset or method.
The larger 2024 LBK survey showed regional differences and examined kinship, mobility and burial evidence together. Derenburg is best compared with other named early-farmer sites, preserving geographical distinctions instead of assuming that every LBK group had one identical genetic profile.
Modern similarity is a separate question. A population near this reference in G25 space is not a direct continuation of the Derenburg cemetery, and a modern heatmap cannot reconstruct the catchment area of an early Neolithic village.
What is Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg DNA closest to?
In the World Genetics modern G25 comparison, the closest non-self match for Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg 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 Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg profile its nearest modern genetic context inside the current reference database.
Closest Matches
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What does Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg ancestry look like?
The ancestral breakdown below loads the best-fitting World Genetics calculator for the Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg 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 Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg DNA closest on the map?
The heatmap gives the Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg profile a geographic shape. Warmer areas mark regions where available modern reference populations sit closer to the Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg average, while cooler areas represent more distant matches.
What populations are genetically closest to Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg?
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 Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg 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 Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg average after removing Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg itself from the table.
What does the Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg heatmap show?
The heatmap shows where modern reference populations are closer or farther from the Germany EN LBK Derenburg-Meerenstieg G25 average, giving the closest-match results a geographic view.
