East African forager map
Ancient East African forager (Ethiopia, 4,500 BP) · Ethiopian highlands, about 4,500 years ago
How to read these maps: pale yellow means little or none of the selected ancestry, orange a medium share and deep red the highest values. Each dot is the average of a modern population: hover or tap it to see its numbers. Areas with no samples nearby stay blank.
Ancient East African forager (Ethiopia, 4,500 BP)
Ethiopian highlands, about 4,500 years ago
Faded dots are populations the model fits less well: read their values with care. Click the map to zoom with your mouse wheel.
Who was the Mota man?
In 2015 a man buried about 4,500 years ago in Mota Cave, in the highlands of southwestern Ethiopia, became the first ancient African whose full genome was sequenced.
He lived before a wave of ancestry from the Near East reached East Africa, so his DNA preserves the region's earlier African forager background, with no Eurasian mix. His closest living relatives are the Ari, an Omotic-speaking people of southern Ethiopia. Ancestry like his forms a deep layer in many peoples of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa, under later layers of ancestry.
In this model the source labelled Ethiopia 4,500 BP captures that old East African forager heritage, which differs both from the Nilotic ancestry of the Dinka and from the West African ancestry of the Yoruba.
In our model, ancient East African forager ancestry peaks today in Hadza (Tanzania), at 87.4%, followed by Ari (Ethiopia) (65.9%) and Ari Blacksmith (Ethiopia) (62.8%). The ten highest values come from Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Africa and Lesotho. It reaches at least 5% in 120 of the 1,998 populations on the map, and at least 20% in 40 of them. On the world scale the colours run from 0 to 16.7%, the level reached by the top 2% of populations, so the deepest red marks the real hot spots.
Where ancient East African forager ancestry peaks today
| # | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hadza Tanzania | 87.4% |
| 2 | Ari Ethiopia | 65.9% |
| 3 | Ari Blacksmith Ethiopia | 62.8% |
| 4 | Ari Cultivator Ethiopia | 61.7% |
| 5 | Sandawe Tanzania | 59.2% |
| 6 | Xhosa South Africa | 34.9% |
| 7 | Iraqw Tanzania | 34.3% |
| 8 | Wolayta Ethiopia | 33.5% |
| 9 | Gumuz Ethiopia Ethiopia | 31.9% |
| 10 | Sotho Lesotho Lesotho | 31.3% |
Averages of modern populations, modelled with 17 reference sources. Tap a name to find it on the map.
The 17 ancestral sources
About these numbers
These maps show model estimates for population averages, not ethnic labels and not the result of any one person. Each source stands in for a wider ancestral population, and ancestries that have no source of their own in this set, such as Oceanian or Khoe-San ancestry, are absorbed by their closest relatives among the 17. Populations the model fits less well are shown with faded dots and count less in the colour surface.
Method: Each population average (Global25 coordinates) is modelled as a mix of 17 ancient and modern reference groups with non-negative least squares, shares adding up to 100%. Fit is the distance between the population and its best mix: the lower the better, above 0.06 the mix explains the population poorly. Top lists leave out the few populations these 17 groups cannot model at all (fit above 0.15). Data generated 1 October 2026, 1,998 populations on the map.
Keep exploring
For the full picture of one population, the Population Genetics Atlas has a page for each of hundreds of modern populations, with its ancient make-up and its closest modern and ancient neighbours.
Curious about your own DNA? The free Report Finder tests which of our reports fits your G25 coordinates, before you order anything.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Mota genome matter?
It was the first full ancient genome from Africa, published in 2015. Because the Mota man lived before ancestry from the Near East reached East Africa, his genome shows what the region's foragers looked like genetically before that mixing. His closest living relatives are the Ari of southern Ethiopia.
Where is ancient East African forager ancestry highest today?
In our model it is highest in Hadza (Tanzania) (87.4%), Ari (Ethiopia) (65.9%) and Ari Blacksmith (Ethiopia) (62.8%). These are averages of modern populations modelled with 17 reference sources, so individuals within each population can differ.
How are these ancient ancestry maps made?
Each modern population average, taken from published G25 coordinates, is modelled as a mix of the same 17 ancient and modern reference sources with a non-negative least-squares fit, the same family of method our reports use. The map then interpolates the share of the selected source between the sampled places and leaves areas with no nearby samples blank.
Does a high value mean direct descent from these people?
No. Each source stands in for a broader ancestral population, and the 17 sources are fitted together, so closely related sources can trade shares between them. Read a value as how much of this kind of ancestry the model needs to describe a population average, not as a family tree.
Why are some areas of the map blank?
The colour surface is only drawn within a few hundred kilometres of real samples. Oceans and regions without data stay empty instead of showing invented values. Each dot on the map is a real population average.