Fofonovo Neolithic: Transbaikal Kitoi

The human remains recovered at Fofonovo (Kabansky District, Buryatia) sit on the eastern margin of the Lake Baikal basin and date to the Early Neolithic (calibrated range 5989–5633 BCE). Archaeological data indicates funerary deposits and associated lithic assemblages that place these individuals within a long-running Transbaikal tradition sometimes affiliated with the broader Kitoi cultural horizon. The landscape—a mosaic of lake, riverine and forested zones—favored mobile, aquatic-focused lifeways and likely sustained small, kin-based groups.

Limited evidence suggests continuity in local mortuary practices, but the attribution to a named archaeological culture remains cautious: material links to later-described Kitoi assemblages are persuasive in typology yet sparse in direct stratigraphic sequences. Radiocarbon dates from Fofonovo anchor these burials firmly in the Early Holocene, a period of ecological change after the last glacial fluctuations. Environmental shifts would have shaped settlement mobility, resource choices, and social networks.

Because the sample count is small (n=3), hypotheses about broad cultural emergence must remain provisional. Ongoing excavation and future genomic sampling may clarify whether these individuals represent local continuity, incoming groups, or a blend of both.

Ancient DNA from three individuals excavated at Fofonovo provides a narrowly framed but informative genetic snapshot of Early Neolithic Transbaikal people. All three male samples carry Y-chromosome haplogroup Q, a lineage widely reported across Siberia and known as a major founding paternal lineage of populations that later peopled the Americas. On the maternal side the small dataset shows mtDNA haplogroups C4 (two individuals) and R11 (one individual), both lineages with distributions centered in Northeast Asia and Siberia.

These genetic markers are consistent with an East Eurasian/Siberian ancestry component common in Holocene hunter-fisher populations of the Baikal region. The uniform presence of haplogroup Q across the male samples could indicate patrilineal continuity or a sampling bias; with only three Y-chromosomes the pattern is strongly preliminary. Likewise, the mtDNA diversity (C4 and R11) hints at local maternal lineages typical for the area but cannot resolve finer-scale kinship or mobility without larger sample sizes.

Comparisons to broader ancient DNA datasets suggest these individuals fit within a genetic landscape of Early Holocene Siberia that contributed to later regional populations. However, given n=3, all interpretations must be cautious: more samples are needed to test hypotheses of continuity, migration, or sex-biased demographic processes.