You Are a Map Written in Time
Before nations had names, your ancestors were already moving. Discover how ancient peoples and migrations across millennia wove the genetic tapestry that makes you, you.
What "Ancient Composition" Means
This is not a modern ethnicity estimate. This is something far older—and far more profound.
Modern Countries
"You are 45% German, 30% Irish, 25% Italian"
- Based on today's national borders
- Compares you to living people
- Political boundaries, not genetic history
Ancient Peoples
"Your DNA echoes Yamnaya herders and Neolithic farmers"
- Based on real ancient DNA
- Compares you to people from 12,000 years
- Reveals deep ancestral populations
The First Foundations
In the depths of the Paleolithic, the first genetic threads of your ancestry were spun.
Long before agriculture, before cities, before writing—small bands of humans crossed landscapes that have since transformed beyond recognition.
The earliest layers of your genetic ancestry trace back to these pioneering populations. Western Hunter-Gatherers (WHG) roamed the forests of Europe. Ancient North Eurasians (ANE) adapted to the frigid steppes of Siberia. Eastern Hunter-Gatherers (EHG) navigated the vast plains between East and West.
These ancient populations—separated by thousands of miles and millennia—each developed distinct genetic signatures. Fragments of these signatures persist in you today.
WHG
Western Hunter-Gatherers
EuropeANE
Ancient North Eurasians
SiberiaEHG
Eastern Hunter-Gatherers
Eastern EuropeThe Great Movements
Two of the most transformative migrations in human history reshaped the genetic landscape of entire continents.
The Farmer's Wave
From the fertile lands of Anatolia and the Levant, the first farmers spread across Europe, carrying seeds, livestock, and an entirely new way of life. With them came Anatolian Farmer ancestry—a genetic signature that reshaped populations from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia.
The Steppe Horizon
From the grasslands north of the Black Sea, the Yamnaya and their descendants swept across Europe and into Asia. On horseback and in wheeled wagons, they carried Steppe ancestry, Indo-European languages, and cultural practices that transformed civilizations. This single migration may be the largest genetic turnover in European history.
The past is not behind us. It flows through us—in every cell, in every heartbeat, in the patterns written in our DNA.
The Regional Hearths
As migrations settled and populations merged, distinct regional genetic clusters emerged—the hearths where your ancestry was forged.
Bell Beaker
Western Europe's Bronze Age transformation, from Iberia to the British Isles.
2800 - 1800 BCECorded Ware
The culture that spread Steppe ancestry across Northern Europe.
2900 - 2350 BCECeltic Expansion
Iron Age warriors and artisans across Western and Central Europe.
800 - 50 BCEViking Expansion
Norse seafarers who connected Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.
793 - 1066 CERoman World
The Mediterranean empire that mixed populations across three continents.
27 BCE - 476 CEMedieval Kingdoms
The final formations before the Age of Exploration changed everything.
500 - 1500 CEThe Threads That Remain
These ancient patterns didn't disappear. They merged, they persisted, they live on—in you.
Your DNA is not a snapshot of one place or one time.
It is a tapestry—woven from countless threads, each thread a story of a people, a migration, a meeting of strangers who became ancestors.
The Paleolithic hunter-gatherer who survived the last Ice Age. The Neolithic farmer who planted the first crops. The Bronze Age herder who rode across the steppe. The Iron Age warrior, the Roman citizen, the medieval peasant.
All of them contributed something to you.
What Your Report Reveals
Not where you are from—how you came to be.
Your Closest Ancient Individual
Among 2,500+ ancient samples spanning 12,000 years, who shares the most genetic similarity with you? Meet them—see their portrait, learn their story, understand the era and culture that shaped them.
Your Composite Ancient Profile
Your genetics as a blend of two ancient populations. "60% Bell Beaker + 40% Yamnaya" reveals the proportions that best explain your ancestral makeup.
The Lands That Shaped You
See where your ancient matches lived—from the forests of Scandinavia to the shores of the Mediterranean, from the steppes of Central Asia to the hills of Iberia.
Time Depth
Understand when your strongest signals appear—are they concentrated in the Bronze Age? Scattered across millennia? See the temporal distribution of your genetic echoes.
Haplogroup Matches
Discover ancient individuals who share your maternal (mtDNA) or paternal (Y-DNA) haplogroup lineage. See which ancient people carried the same genetic markers that flow through your direct ancestral lines.
AI-Powered Analysis
Get intelligent interpretations of your ancient connections. Our AI analyzes your matches across eras and regions to provide personalized insights about your genetic heritage.
AI Assistant
A World of Connections
Your ancient matches span continents and millennia. From the frozen North to the Mediterranean sun, from the Atlantic coast to the Asian steppes—your genetic story is a global one.
Database Coverage
Map displays 500 samples for optimal performance. Browse all 2,500+ samples from 3,000+ archaeological sites in the database below.
Browse Ancient Samples
Search through our database of 2,500+ authenticated ancient DNA samples from 3,000+ archaeological sites worldwide.
Ancient Sample Database
Loading...| Portrait | Sample ID | Country | Era | Date Range | Culture | Sex | Haplogroups |
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Discover which of these ancient individuals share your genetic signature
Get Your Ancient Composition ReportRead This the Right Way
Understanding what your results mean—and what they don't.
Proxies, Not Exact Tribes
Ancient populations in this report are proxies—representative samples from specific times and places. They stand for broader population groups, not specific tribes or nations. The names we use (like "Yamnaya" or "Bell Beaker") are archaeological labels for cultures, not self-identifications.
Probabilistic, Not Absolute
Your results show statistical similarity, not certainty. A genetic distance of 4.0 means your ancestry profile is similar to that ancient individual—it doesn't mean they were your direct ancestor. All genetic ancestry analysis involves probability and uncertainty.
Identity ≠ Composition
Your ancient genetic composition is not your identity. Modern culture, family history, and personal experience shape who you are far more than ancient DNA ratios. This report is a window into the past, not a definition of who you are today.
Science Evolves
As more ancient DNA is sequenced and analytical methods improve, your results may be refined. This is the nature of scientific progress. Your report receives free updates as our database and methods advance.
The Science
Careful science—presented in a human voice.
Three Pillars of Analysis
ADMIXTURE Decomposition
Your genome is decomposed into 20 ancestry components representing distinct ancient population signatures.
Unsupervised clustering identifies proportions without predefined labelsPCA Projection
Principal Component Analysis projects your genetic profile onto axes of maximum variation alongside ancient samples.
Reveals population structure and your position within itEuclidean Distance
The geometric distance between your admixture profile and each ancient sample in multi-dimensional genetic space.
Lower distance = higher genetic similarityADMIXTURE Analysis
Your DNA is analyzed using a technique called ADMIXTURE, which decomposes your genome into ancestral components. We use 20 ancestry components that represent distinct population signatures identified across global ancient DNA studies.
Each ancient sample in our database has been analyzed with the same methodology, allowing direct comparison. We calculate Euclidean genetic distance between your component profile and each ancient sample.
PCA Projection
Principal Component Analysis (PCA) reduces the complexity of genetic data by projecting your profile onto axes that capture the most variation across populations. This reveals population structure—how ancient and modern groups cluster relative to each other—and shows where you sit within that landscape.
Reference Panel
Our database includes 2,500+ authenticated ancient DNA samples from 3,000+ archaeological sites in peer-reviewed archaeological publications. Samples span from the Paleolithic (~10,000 BCE) to the Medieval period (~1500 CE), covering major genetic transitions including the Neolithic Revolution, Bronze Age migrations, and Iron Age expansions.
How the Three Methods Combine
ADMIXTURE provides your ancestral component profile. PCA reveals where you sit among ancient populations. Euclidean distance then measures the precise geometric gap between your profile and each ancient sample across all dimensions. Together, these three approaches produce your closest ancient matches with confidence scores that reflect genuine genetic similarity.
Uncertainty & Confidence
All genetic analyses involve uncertainty. Lower genetic distance scores indicate higher similarity, but results are probabilistic. Factors like ancient DNA quality, reference panel composition, and analytical parameters all influence results. We are transparent about these limitations.
Voices of Discovery
Join thousands who have uncovered their ancient genetic connections
"This completely changed how I see my ancestry. Not countries on a map, but real ancient people—with faces, stories, and genetic signatures that echo in me. The Bronze Age match from Bohemia was particularly moving."
"The composite profile feature is brilliant. Seeing my genetics as '55% Bell Beaker + 45% Yamnaya' gave me a completely new perspective on my deep ancestry."
"Finally, an ancestry report based on real science. The ADMIXTURE analysis with 20 components gave me results that actually make sense with what I know about my family history."
"I was skeptical at first, but the depth of analysis is impressive. The genetic distance scores and the explanation of what they mean built real trust in the results."
See the World Inside You
Your history isn't one place. It's movement, meeting, and memory.
Ancient Global Composition
- 2,500+ Ancient Sample Database
- Your Closest Ancient Individual
- Composite Two-Way Profiles
- 20 Ancestry Components Analysis
- Haplogroup Matching (mtDNA & Y-DNA)
- Interactive Timeline with Zoom
- Era Distribution Insights
- AI-Powered Analysis
- Geographic Distribution Map
- Genetic Distance Scores
- Lifetime Access & Free Updates
Secure checkout • GDPR compliant
Frequently Asked Questions
Ancient Global Composition estimates your genetic ancestry from ancient reference populations spanning 12,000 years - from Paleolithic hunters to Medieval kingdoms. Unlike modern ethnicity estimates based on today's populations, this report reveals which ancient peoples and migrations shaped your DNA using ADMIXTURE analysis with 20 ancestry components.
Genetic distance measures how different your ADMIXTURE profile is from ancient samples. Lower values indicate closer genetic similarity. A distance under 3.0 is exceptional, 3.0-5.0 is close, 5.0-6.0 is moderate, and above 6.0 is distant. These scores help you understand the strength of your genetic connection to each ancient individual.
No, this analysis shows genetic similarity, not direct ancestry. You and these ancient individuals share similar ancestry components, meaning your genetic profiles evolved from similar ancestral populations. For direct ancestry matching through chromosomal segments, see our Shared Roots Ancient Matches report.
The Composite Profile models your genetics as a blend of two ancient populations. Instead of finding single matches, it identifies the best combination that together explains your genetic makeup. For example, '60% Population A + 40% Population B' means this blend closely matches your overall genetic profile.
We accept raw DNA files from major testing companies including 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA, Living DNA, and other standard formats. Your DNA file must contain autosomal data. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) files provide the most comprehensive results.
Absolutely. Your genetic data is encrypted using industry-standard 256-bit SSL/TLS protocols and stored securely. We never share your data with third parties without your explicit consent. We are fully GDPR compliant, and you can delete your data at any time from your account settings.
Yes! The report includes haplogroup matching for both maternal (mtDNA) and paternal (Y-DNA) lineages. If you have haplogroup data from your DNA test, we'll show you ancient individuals who share your haplogroup lineage, connecting you to specific ancestral lines through history. This adds another dimension to understanding your ancient connections.
Yes, the report includes our AI Assistant feature that provides intelligent, personalized interpretations of your ancient connections. The AI analyzes patterns across your matches—identifying dominant eras, geographic concentrations, and meaningful insights about your genetic heritage that might not be immediately obvious from the raw data.
Your Ancestry Isn't a Label. It's a Tapestry.
Discover the ancient peoples and migrations that wove your genetic story across 12,000 years.
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