Levantine Neolithic map
Levantine Neolithic farmers (PPNB) · Southern Levant, about 8800 to 6500 BC
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.
Levantine Neolithic farmers (PPNB)
Southern Levant, about 8800 to 6500 BC
Faded dots are populations the model fits less well: read their values with care. Click the map to zoom with your mouse wheel.
Who were the PPNB farmers of the Levant?
The Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, or PPNB, is the period from about 8800 to 6500 BC when farming villages took hold in the southern Levant, in what is now Israel, Palestine, Jordan and Syria. Its people grew wheat, barley and legumes, herded goats and sheep, built rectangular houses, and are famous for the plastered skulls of their dead found at sites such as Jericho and Ain Ghazal.
The genomes in this source come from PPNB sites in Jordan and Israel, including Ain Ghazal. They descend mostly from the Natufian foragers who lived in the same region before them, with some ancestry related to the farmers of Anatolia.
Levantine Neolithic ancestry later contributed to the peoples of the Near East, the Arabian Peninsula and parts of northeastern Africa, which makes it a key reference for the deep ancestry of the Levant and Arabia.
In our model, Levantine Neolithic ancestry peaks today in Kuwaiti Arab Al-Awazem, at 81.3%, followed by Kuwaiti Arab (80.3%) and Yemeni Mehri Mahra (78.1%). The ten highest values come from Kuwait, Yemen, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and other countries. It reaches at least 5% in 479 of the 1,998 populations on the map, and at least 20% in 194 of them. On the world scale the colours run from 0 to 59.9%, the level reached by the top 2% of populations, so the deepest red marks the real hot spots.
Where Levantine Neolithic ancestry peaks today
| # | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuwaiti Arab Al-Awazem Kuwait | 81.3% |
| 2 | Kuwaiti Arab Kuwait | 80.3% |
| 3 | Yemeni Mehri Mahra Yemen | 78.1% |
| 4 | Bedouin Sudan Rashaida Sudan | 77.8% |
| 5 | Yemeni Arab Al Jawf Yemen | 77.8% |
| 6 | Saudi Mecca Saudi Arabia | 76.8% |
| 7 | Saudi Saudi Arabia | 76.7% |
| 8 | Yemeni Arab Ma'rib Yemen | 76.5% |
| 9 | Saudi Jizan Saudi Arabia | 76.3% |
| 10 | Bedouin Negev Israel | 76.2% |
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
What does PPNB mean?
PPNB stands for Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, the phase of the early Neolithic in the Levant, from about 8800 to 6500 BC, when farming villages were well established but pottery was not yet in use.
Where is Levantine Neolithic ancestry highest today?
In our model it is highest in Kuwaiti Arab Al-Awazem (81.3%), Kuwaiti Arab (80.3%) and Yemeni Mehri Mahra (78.1%). 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.