A man buried in Germany in the Bronze Age era

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Reference library / Sample profile

A man buried in Germany in the Bronze Age era

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

GermanyBronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany

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

View sample details Explore Shared Roots
AI portrait reconstruction for A man buried in Germany in the Bronze Age era
AI-generated artistic reconstruction, not a photograph of the individual.
Record

Sample details

Recorded details and available lineage markers.

Individual

Proto-Germanic individual, Germany

Sample ID: WEZ35

Date Range

1300 BCE - 1200 BCE

Cultural Period

Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany

Biological Sex

Male

mtDNA Haplogroup

K1c1

Y-DNA Haplogroup

R1b1a2a1a2

Social Role

Warrior (AI estimate, era-typical)

Geography

Location

Where this individual was discovered

Country Germany
Locality Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield
Coordinates 53.7400, 13.3100
Chronology

Date range

When this individual lived in the broader context of human history

Proto-Germanic individual, Germany 1300 BCE - 1200 BCE
Context

Historical context

Background information associated with the reference record.

Region & Environment

The Tollense Valley is a river corridor in northern Germany characterized by wetlands and water-adjacent environments. Such conditions can preserve organic materials and create depositional settings where artifacts are concentrated within river channels or near-channel contexts.

Historical Context

Around 1250–1200 BCE, parts of northern Europe were within a Bronze Age milieu that included long-distance contact and the circulation of metal and prestige items. In the Tollense Valley, the archaeological record is dominated by unusual deposits that suggest an extraordinary social event during this period.

Populations & Lifeways

Bronze Age groups in the region were typically settled agriculturalists with craft practices, supplemented by hunting and exploitation of aquatic resources. The Tollense evidence—because of its exceptional nature—indicates involvement of multiple people and possibly different communities converging in the same landscape for a specific event.

Archaeology & Material Culture

Tollense is defined by the recovery of large numbers of human remains and associated artifacts from contexts related to the river. Finds interpreted as weaponry and other deposits support the idea of violence and conflict rather than routine funerary deposition, while the setting near the waterway explains the concentration and preservation.

Culture & Society

The event implied by the Tollense deposits points to social tensions and organized group action. While the exact political organization cannot be determined from the material alone, the scale suggests coordinated participation by more than a single household and reflects social systems capable of mobilizing people.

Legacy & Transition

After 1200 BCE, broader Bronze Age societies across Europe underwent changes related to shifting trade patterns and regional dynamics. The Tollense site remains a crucial reference point for understanding how Bronze Age communities could experience large-scale disruptions and how such moments were recorded archaeologically.

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 92.5%
Southern European 57.4%
Iberian 32.3%
Balkan 12.8%
Italian 12.3%
Northwestern European 35.1%
Scandinavian 23.4%
Northwestern European 8.1%
Finnish 3.6%
Africa 6.9%
North African 6.9%
North African 6.9%
Asia 0.6%
Northern West Asian 0.6%
Cypriot 0.6%

Closest Modern Populations

These are the modern populations showing the closest statistical alignment to A man buried in Germany in the Bronze Age 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.

1
German
2.8015
2
German Erlangen
2.8064
3
Austrian
2.8703
4
French Alsace
2.9230
5
Belgiana
2.9740
6
French Nord
3.0262
7
Belgianc
3.1173
8
French Pas De Calais
3.1808
9
Belgianb
3.2618
10
French Seine Maritime
3.3324
Context

Related Samples

This individual exists within a broader network of ancient samples. No ancient genome stands alone.

Individual Culture/Period Date Location Action
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 4500 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu N individual, Germany 4500 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Ceu Mlba individual, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Page 1
Individual Culture/Period Date Location Action
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 4500 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Proto-Germanic individual, Germany Bronze Age Tollense Valley, Germany 1300 BCE Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Tollense battlefield, Germany View
Page 1
Sources

References

Scientific publications and genetic data that inform this profile.

G25 Coordinates

These coordinates represent a position in genetic space, a tool for comparison, not a conclusion. You can use these to perform custom admixture analysis in G25 Studio.

WEZ35,0.13000564,0.14156856,0.05992922,0.03340116,0.04841606,0.01359162,0.00399074,0.00978402,0.01622428,0.01288268,-0.0087097,0.0050215,-0.00369082,0.0047037,0.00187362,0.00370838,-0.00639674,-0.00098048,0.00094292,0.00010554,0.00398178,0.00275124,-0.00138788,-0.0062856,0.00063773
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