Karsdorf remains
This is the first instance of this haplogroup in an ancient individual that we are aware of and strengthens the case for the early Neolithic origin of this lineage in modern Europeans, rather than a more recent introduction from the Near East where it is more abundant today.
Located in the valley of Unstrut, Burgenlandkreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, the Karsdorf sits is characterized by alluvial loess.
[5][6] The LBK settlement of Karsdorf (Burgenlandkreis, Saxony-Anhalt) is located approximately 100 km south of Derenburg and Halberstadt, on the river Unstrut, and was occupied between 5240 and 5000 BC (Behnke, 2007).
The individuals are buried in house-flanking pit graves at the western side of the houses and mostly arranged in north-east or north-west orientation.
The large variability and the sparse indications for maternal kinship suggest a dynamic and mobile group of which several members were buried elsewhere and/or which integrated individuals who originated from other communities.
The first group, composed of the majority of the males, could have grown up in households that cultivated plots on calcareous soils, very probably in the Unstrut valley in the near vicinity of the settlement.
The second group, composed of most of the females, could grew up in households that predominantly cultivated plots on loess, possibly beyond the landmarks of the Unstrut River or about 80m above the site on the Querfurt plateau 1–2 km away.
The Karsdorf population diet consisted of plant crops consumption quite similar to other LBK sites but ate slightly higher quantities of animal protein.
Despite this, there is one female individual that could be classified as a vegan because her results show that she fell in the range of those of the domestic and wild fauna from Karsdorf, indicating she might have lived on the similar herbivore diet for unknown reasons.
The consumption of unfermented dairy products is unlikely as there is direct palaeogenetic evidence of lactose intolerance for the site Derenburg.
However, I0795 have the highest frequency of shared DNA with Upper Paleolithic Neanderthals from Central Europe found in any Early Neolithic population.
