Back to the Future: Time Travel and Haplogroup Index
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The map above highlights the area discussed in this post: Altmark, situated around the River Elbe on the North German Plain. In this post, I am exploring the journey of my matrilineage, defined by the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup H6a1a8 (specifically the private variant cluster F8693412).
This lineage could, of course, have arrived in East Anglia via several routes; I am presenting only two. In Option B, the lineage arrives via a Hallstatt bride reaching South East Britain during the Earlier Iron Age. Here, in Option A, I follow an Anglo-Saxon route. In this scenario, the lineage moved northwards from an Eastern Alpine origin and, by 500 BCE, existed within the early Jastorf culture along the River Elbe.
The Jastorf archaeological culture is often seen as connected to the emergence of later, Germanic peoples.
Did my ninety-times great-grandmother live among these people?
The Environment The landscape is a mosaic of sandy pine barrens, fertile loess soils ideal for agriculture, and the wide, unpredictable floodplains of the River Elbe. This low-lying, sandy plain is dissected by numerous tributaries, making settlement a matter of strategy. Communities cling to the ‘islands’ of higher, drier ground (Geest) to escape the seasonal flooding of the marshlands.
Climate The ‘Subatlantic’ climatic phase has taken hold; consequently, it is cooler and wetter than in previous centuries. This persistent dampness dictates every facet of life, from the construction of houses to the specific crops sown. For the Jastorf farmers, floods are a frequent and formidable seasonal hazard.
Jastorf and the Three-Aisled Longhouse
The social unit is centered on the Three-Aisled Longhouse. These are impressive timber-frame structures with wattle-and-daub walls and thatched roofs. They are a shared space: Humans and livestock live under one roof. The cattle occupy one end, their body heat helping to warm the central living area where the hearth fire never truly goes out.
Subsistence: These are skilled farmers. They grow emmer wheat, barley, and millet, but there is an increasing reliance on flax (for linen) and gold-of-pleasure (for oil).
Hardiness: Life is a constant negotiation with the soil. They supplement their diet with intensive foraging for acorns, hazelnuts, and wild berries.
This is a largely egalitarian, tribal society, but "big men" or local chieftains are again beginning to emerge.
The Cult of the Dead: Cremation is the standard. The ashes are placed in ceramic urns and are also buried in vast "urnfields." In the Altmark, these cemeteries are often reused for generations, creating a deep sense of ancestral continuity.
The Sacred Bog: The surrounding wetlands are seen as portals to the divine. It is common to deposit "votive offerings"—fine pottery, weapons, or even sacrificed animals—into the peat as gifts to deities that govern the rain and the harvest.
The Nienburg Group The Nienburg Group are seen as significant pioneers of the later Germanic cultures—the "bridge-builders" of European culture. In the centuries to follow, they will be in contact and trading with Belgic groups expanding from the Danube in the south to the western boundaries of the Nienburg Group. If my ninety-times great-grandmother is not already here in 500 BCE, perhaps it is then that her lineage will arrive?
Iron The Bronze Age was now fading. Europe was no longer dependent on the importation of bronze, copper, and tin, as iron had become commonplace. Our Jastorf ancestors were very likely to have harvested bog iron—mineral deposits that settled during repeated floods. They could collect these small pellets of raw iron and forge them into tools far sharper than those made of bronze.
Although it required the arduous labour of forging and hammering, the end product was inexpensive, locally sourced, and durable. Crucially, it could be repaired. Human relationships and their respective cultures shifted in response to these new implements. While bronze had been a symbol of elite status, iron became the practical, everyday tool of the Northern European farmers.
GO TO NEXT ACT OPTION A - Late Jastorf culture / proto-Lombards. Middle/Lower Elbe, North German Plain. 200 BCE
Back to the Future: Time Travel and Haplogroup Index