(2016) The I-L39 Esperstedt Sample

By Hans De Beule

Haak (2015) and Mathieson (2015) have demonstrated that the male Esperstedt sample I0114/ESP2 (feature 3340.1, 2131-1979 cal BCE, MAMS 21493) has positive reads for the following SNPs:

• Z2638+/PF3664+ (a marker for I2 according ISOGG, March 2016)

• L368+ (a marker for I2a2 according ISOGG, May 2016),

• L39+ (a marker for I2a2b according ISOGG, May 2016)

Based on the SNP results it is safe to conclude that the I0114/ESP2 sample can be labelled I-L39.

Individual ESP2/I0114

A male individual, coded ESP29/I0117 (feature 3332/3333, 2199-2064 calBCE, MAMS 21496), was buried next to ESP2/I0114. The SNP coverage of this individual is too poor to haplotype this individual but it appears that I0114 and I0117 are related. Both samples belong to the Únêtician or Aunjetitzer culture. (Haak, 2015)

The Aunjetitzer culture and archeological site “4e” in Esperstedt, where the 4100-year-old I-L39 sample was found, are briefly discussed below.

The Únêtician culture (or Aunjetitzer Kultur)

The culture that flourished in the middle of Central Europe in the early Bronze Age is known as the Únêtician culture (or Aunjetitzer Kultur in German). The name is derived from the site Únêtice near Prague in Bohemia (Czech Republic). The distribution of archaeological finds of Únêtician graves and settlements reveals that the pattern of settlement closely follows natural geographical features. Northern and southern branches of the culture can be roughly distinguished, separated from each other by the highlands of the Thuringian Forest, Erzgebirge, and the Sudeten Mountains. In the northern branch, it is the East Harz region that commands the most attention. Here the most extensive concentration of finds occurs in an arc open to the west, occupying the areas of loess and black earth soils that curve around the hill-country, which itself has no such finds.

The Aunjetitzer Culture (ca 2300-1600 BC) marked the beginning of the Bronze Age in Eastern Central Europe. Our knowledge of this culture is based on grave and hoard finds and from remains of settlements. Especially in central Germany, the Aunjetitzer culture stands out because of its metal wealth which is primarily manifested in the so called “princely graves” that contain hundreds of bronze objects. The finds in Esperstedt, however, were not of a “princely” order.

Esperstedt in the Saalekreis in Saxony-Anhalt lies along the small river Weida. On both sides of the Weida Valley a small group of Aunjetitzer culture graves was excavated during the construction of road A38. In Esperstedt, remains of 21 Aunjetitzer culture graves were discovered in 18 graves. Some graves contained more than one individual.

At the west of Esperstedt and the river Weida, at a site called 4e, 10 Early Bronze Age graves were found. Eight of them are grouped.

Of the 11 individuals in site 4e, six were buried as adults and four were children. The adults, predominantly men, were between 20 and 60 years old. The children, three girls and a boy, were between about two and 10 years. The age of one individual could not be determined.

In accordance with the customs of the Aunjetitzer culture, all were buried in a crouched position lying on their right sides.

The dead of the Aunjetitzer culture were buried with their feet to the north, their heads to the south, and their faces looking at the (rise of the sun) in the east. The orientation of the Esperstedt graves, however, deviates slightly from the normal north-south axis. The graves in Esperstedt all are positioned parallel to each other on a northwest-southeast axis and facing northeast.

The regular distances between the parallel graves suggest there were grave marks above the ground.

Graves at site 4e

In the grave of individual ESP2/I0114, as well as in the graves of three other individuals, a dark-colored rectangular shape on the soil around the skeletons indicates that the body was once buried in a sort of a small wooden chamber. The other graves seem to be simple “earth graves”. Looking at the age of the individuals it appears that only adults were buried in a wooden grave construction.

The tombs contained from one to three vessels as grave gifts, but there were no bronze or silex objects. In two cases (including individual ESP29/I0117) a green coloring on the bones strongly suggests the earlier presence copper or bronze jewelry.

The grave of individual ESP2/I0114 contained an exceptional grave gift. The deceased was an adult male in stool position with strongly attached arms and legs. He was given three vessels as grave gifts. A cup was positioned behind his shoulder and a cup and bowl were placed in front of his lower legs.

Grave gifts of individual ESP2/I0114

All vessels found at site 4e date from the early phase of Unetice culture, which precedes the so-called classical Unetice culture. Typically, their form is slightly bell-shaped.

For those who want to consult or order the original article (in German) on the archeological site, see:

• Renata Faron-Bartels, Rainer Bartels. Frühbronzezeitliche Befunde der Aunjetitzer Kultur. Archäologie aufer der Überholspur, Ausgrabungen an der A38. Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte in Sachsen-Anhalt, Sonderband 5, Halle (Saale), 2006, pp.108-123

• http://www.archaeologie-und-buecher.de/buchinfo.asp?Buchtitel=572&KID=5740004002166249667007112008

Last update: may 16th 2016