How to read
the atlas

Define the subject before discussing DNA

A living people, citizenship category, religion, language, archaeological classification and genetic study cohort are different descriptions. An article explains which label it uses, where that label comes from and how its meaning changes. Diasporas and overlapping identities can belong in several geographic contexts.

Our terminology follows NHGRI guidance on population descriptors and the National Academies framework. Genetics cannot determine ethnicity, community membership, citizenship, sovereignty, territorial entitlement or political legitimacy.

Read claims alongside their sources

History uses accountable scholarship, documented archaeology, archives and appropriate community sources. A community's own source is valuable for self-description; an external historical claim needs relevant historical evidence. Genetics uses verified peer-reviewed publications. Citations link claims, timeline events, study summaries and geographic context to identifiable works.

Study cards describe the sampled group, cohort size or its reporting limits, time, place, method, findings and interpretation limits. Direct evidence concerns the profile's actual sampled context. Contextual evidence concerns a related region or period and cannot stand in for direct sampling. Limited evidence means the selected research does not sustain a broad conclusion. These labels describe coverage, not a quality ranking of peoples or papers.

Explain sensitive histories precisely

Articles address well-supported historical events directly and describe substantive scholarly disagreements with their evidence. Political disagreement alone does not make an established event uncertain. Names and territorial descriptions are attributed and dated. Ancient geography is not projected automatically onto modern states.

For Israel and Palestine, the atlas distinguishes Palestinian communities, Jewish communities, Israeli citizenship, religious affiliation and ancient research labels. Jewish community terms such as Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Mizrahi have different histories and can overlap. This same precision applies worldwide. No genetic finding is used to allocate belonging, inherited guilt, rights or political legitimacy.

Charts describe particular studies

Each figure identifies its publication and source table or figure, cohort, denominator, method, units, reported uncertainty and reuse terms. Aggregate values are transcribed from reusable numerical sources. We do not estimate values by eye from images, merge incompatible models, or import participant-level DNA records.

Haplogroups concern a particular maternal or paternal lineage branch. An ancestry-model component depends on the study's reference samples and assumptions. PCA displays variation in a specified analytical projection and cannot establish identity. See the published tutorial on interpreting STRUCTURE and ADMIXTURE. PCA charts here require published aggregate coordinates in one shared projection; otherwise readers are directed to the original figures.

No chart is preferable to unsupported numbers. Data tables remain readable when chart scripts are unavailable.

Geography provides context

Points are approximate, dated and sourced. They do not locate sensitive burial deposits, map exclusive ethnic territory or grant access. Basemap labels come from the configured provider and do not imply endorsement of political claims. Multiple points can describe diaspora or changing historical settings.

Approval is specific to a revision

Articles begin as drafts or await review. Public articles require recorded internal editorial approval of the exact article and source-registry revisions. Sensitive profiles require a second distinct reviewer, including Palestinian and Jewish community profiles. Approval records include source, correction and rights/reuse checks. Content stays unpublished while these checks are unresolved. Material edits invalidate prior approval.

Our internal editorial approval is not academic peer review and does not imply that original researchers reviewed this atlas. AI-assisted writing is disclosed. Automated checks validate structure and references; editors must assess interpretation and verify relevant corrections or retractions. The section is an initial worldwide selection rather than a complete census of peoples.

Privacy and corrections

The atlas uses public editorial material and published aggregate research. It accepts no customer DNA, kit identifiers, family records or personal comparisons. No interactive AI service is called by these pages. For a correction, use the site's existing contact channel and identify the article, claim and supporting source; do not send personal genetic data.