Reference library / Sample profile

A man buried in France in the Mesolithic era

Explore the recorded context, genetic comparisons and research behind this reference sample.

FranceBerry-au-Bac Site, France

A reference profile describes this sample. It does not establish a personal or family relationship.

View sample details Explore Shared Roots

AI-generated artistic reconstruction, not a photograph of the individual.

Record

Sample details

Recorded details and available lineage markers.

Individual

Western European Hunter-Gatherers individual, France

Sample ID: BerryAuBac

Date Range

5368 BCE - 5216 BCE

Cultural Period

Berry-au-Bac Site, France

Biological Sex

Male

mtDNA Haplogroup

U5b1a

Y-DNA Haplogroup

I-M170

Social Role

Laborer (AI estimate, era-typical)

Geography

Location

Where this individual was discovered

Country France

Locality Berry Au Bac

Coordinates 49.2400, 3.5400

Chronology

Date range

When this individual lived in the broader context of human history

Western European Hunter-Gatherers individual, France 5368 BCE - 5216 BCE

Context

Historical context

Background information associated with the reference record.

Region & Environment

Berry-au-Bac lies in northern France within a landscape of river valleys and fertile alluvial zones. Such environments supported access to freshwater resources, game, and plant foods, while also offering travel routes through the countryside.

Historical Context

Within the given date range (5000–4000 BCE), the site framework is presented under a Mesolithic label, indicating reliance on hunter-gatherer lifeways rather than full-scale agricultural settlement as the defining feature of the population being discussed. In broader terms, this interval in western and central Europe is also a time when farming was spreading and changing regional interactions, but individual sites can reflect different speeds of adoption and local persistence of older traditions.

Populations & Lifeways

Hunter-gatherer groups would have planned seasonal movements to exploit fish, wild plant foods, and hunting opportunities. Tools and processing activities imply repeated use of landscapes for daily subsistence. Even when agriculture existed nearby, local lifeways at particular sites could remain focused on foraging and hunting.

Archaeology & Material Culture

Archaeological identification at sites like Berry-au-Bac typically relies on lithic tool assemblages and the kinds of features and deposits preserved on the site. Diagnostic artifacts and stratified contexts help distinguish cultural signatures, though direct links to later Neolithic communities cannot be assumed from artifact style alone. The material record is commonly interpreted in terms of daily technology—cutting, scraping, and other tasks tied to foraging and processing.

Culture & Society

Social life can be approached through evidence for repeated site use and the labor required for hunting and food processing. Material culture suggests shared traditions in tool-making and task organization. Because such societies did not leave written records, interpretations of identity and social structure must remain general and grounded in observable patterns.

Legacy & Transition

The transition from foraging-based systems to more agricultural lifeways occurred unevenly across western Europe. In areas where hunter-gatherer traditions persisted for some time, sites such as Berry-au-Bac help document that local lifeways could remain viable alongside broader regional demographic and economic changes.

Analysis

Genetic comparisons

These comparisons show genetic similarity, not identity or origin. The populations listed are those whose genomes show statistical alignment to this ancient individual.

Similarity reflects shared history, not shared identity. These are analytical comparisons, not claims about who this person was.

Modern Genetic Admixture

This analysis compares the DNA profile with present-day reference populations, showing statistical similarity to modern reference populations from different regions. The excavation site records where this individual was found, not a fixed modern genetic identity.

Europe 96.4%

Northwestern European 65.6%

Scandinavian 33.4%

Finnish 32.2%

Eastern European 23.0%

Southern European 7.9%

Iberian 7.9%

Oceania 2.6%

Melanesian 2.6%

Papuan 2.6%

Asia 0.9%

Chinese & Southeast Asian 0.9%

Tibetan 0.9%

Closest Modern Populations

These are the modern populations showing the closest statistical alignment to A man buried in France in the Mesolithic era, ranked by genetic distance. Lower distance values indicate closer statistical similarity. Cross-region similarity can reflect shared ancestry, population movement, continuity, or later admixture.

Lithuanian PA

1.2671

62.1834