Lithuania Mesolithic Echoes

Along the pale shores and reed-fringed lakes of prehistoric Lithuania, small bands of post-glacial hunter-gatherers reshaped the landscape. Radiocarbon dates from human remains at Donkalnis and Spiginas fall between 6464 and 5736 BCE, placing these people firmly in the Mesolithic era when forests expanded and freshwater resources abounded. Archaeological deposits at Donkalnis (Telsiai County, Telšių rajono savivaldybė) preserve flaked stone tools, fish bones and hearths that suggest repeated seasonal occupation.

Limited evidence indicates these communities were part of a broader network of northern European hunter-gatherers moving across the Baltic region after the last Ice Age. Material culture shows continuity with neighboring Mesolithic sites in the eastern Baltic and southern Scandinavia, while local adaptations reflect wetland and riverine economies. Because only three ancient genomes are available, interpretations about population origins and movements remain provisional; archaeological data indicates connection and continuity, but the genetic picture is still emerging.

Three ancient genomes from Donkalnis and Spiginas provide the first direct genetic window into Lithuania's Mesolithic people. All three carry mitochondrial haplogroup U, a lineage commonly found among European hunter-gatherers, suggesting matrilineal continuity with broader Mesolithic populations. One male individual carries Y-chromosome haplogroup I, a lineage frequently associated with Mesolithic male lineages across northwestern and central Europe.

Genetic signatures appear broadly consistent with the Western and Baltic hunter-gatherer spectrum known from other parts of Europe, but with only three samples the resolution is low. Limited evidence suggests affinities to regional hunter-gatherer populations rather than later incoming farmers. Because the sample count is under 10, population-level conclusions should be treated as preliminary: expanding the dataset could reveal additional lineages, substructure, or gene flow from neighboring groups during the Mesolithic to Neolithic transition. Archaeology and DNA together portray a people rooted in local landscapes yet connected to wider hunter-gatherer networks across the Baltic and northern Europe.