I2484 - A man buried in Austria in the Pleistocene era
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A man buried in Austria during the Krems-Wachtberg 1 Site, Austria
A fragment of the ancient world, preserved across millennia in strands of DNA.
The biological and cultural markers that define this ancient individual
I2484
29200 BCE - 28600 BCE
Krems-Wachtberg 1 Site, Austria
Male
U5*
I-L758
Hunter (AI estimate, era-typical)
Where this individual was discovered
When this individual lived in the broader context of human history
The narrative of this ancient life
Austria lies within Central Europe’s temperate-to-montane environments, where Upper Paleolithic populations faced climatic variability during the late Pleistocene. River valleys and open landscapes could support animal herds and provide raw materials such as stone for toolmaking. Seasonal movement would have been shaped by temperature fluctuations and changing vegetation.
The interval around 27,000–23,000 BCE falls in the European Upper Paleolithic, a period marked by regional traditions in lithic technology. The Krems-Wachtberg tradition is commonly discussed within broader Gravettian-era developments, reflecting shared tendencies in stone tool production while allowing for local variation. No written sources apply; archaeological patterns provide the main historical evidence.
The people associated with this horizon are best understood as mobile hunter-gatherers. Their lifeways likely included hunting and scavenging strategies coordinated with seasonal availability of prey, along with movements that followed suitable hunting grounds and resource patches. Toolkits were repeatedly maintained and replaced as groups relocated.
Krems-Wachtberg sites are identified through characteristic lithic assemblages—especially patterned stone-tool production that implies planning and technical knowledge. Durable artifacts indicate cutting and working tasks tied to hunting, hide processing, and butchering, as well as the preparation of other materials. Although organic components may have existed, Central European preservation varies, so the stone assemblage is typically central to cultural attribution.
Technological traditions such as Krems-Wachtberg reflect learned practices transmitted within social networks. The presence of consistent tool production strategies suggests repeated behaviors and potentially shared norms across wider regions during the Upper Paleolithic. Interpretations of social complexity remain cautious, but the technological coherence points to structured teaching and practice among hunter-gatherer groups.
As the Upper Paleolithic progressed toward later phases of the Pleistocene, regional lithic traditions continued to evolve. Krems-Wachtberg sites are part of the broader evidence used to understand how Central European foragers adapted through changing climates and shifting technological preferences, contributing to the long transition toward subsequent postglacial developments.
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.
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.
These are the modern populations showing the closest statistical alignment to A man buried in Austria in the Pleistocene 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.
This individual exists within a broader network of ancient samples. No ancient genome stands alone.
Scientific publications and genetic data that inform this profile.
The Upper Palaeolithic double burial of newborns and the single burial of a ca. 3-month-old infant uncovered at the Gravettian site of Krems-Wachtberg, Austria, are of paramount importance given the rarity of immature human remains from this time. Genome-wide ancient DNA shows that the male infants of the double grave are the earliest reported case of monozygotic twins, while the single grave´s individual was their 3rd-degree male relative. We assessed the individuals´ age at death by applying histological and µCT inspection of the maxillary second incisors (i2) in conjunction with C- and N-isotope ratios and Barium (Ba) intake as biomarker for breastfeeding. The results show that the twins were full-term newborns, and that while individual 2 died at birth, individual 1 survived for about 50 days. The findings show that Gravettian mortuary behaviour also included re-opening of a grave and manipulation of its layout and content.
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.
I2484,0.06340254,0.04100988,0.01471156,0.0523462,0.0282834,-0.00684384,-0.00682026,-0.00030946,0.0201157,0.00622502,-0.00986888,0.00236966,-0.00850534,-0.00216802,0.00788454,-0.00439168,-0.0115146,0.00037694,-0.00111536,-0.00279858,0.00330984,0.0053535,-0.00387144,0.00340516,0.00392681