Ancient DNA from Yemen
38 ancient people from Yemen have had their genome published, from AD 653 to AD 1168. Here they are on a map and period by period, with their archaeological cultures and haplogroups.
Main archaeological groups: Yemen Medieval Soqotri (38).
Most frequent Y-DNA lines: J2b (14), F (1), IJ (1), J1a (1), J2 (1).
Most frequent mtDNA lines: I5a (7), J1b (6), R0a (5), R2c (5), J2a (4), N1a (3).
📊 How Yemen's DNA changed over 10,000 years: hunter-gatherers, farmers, steppe herders and later arrivals, period by period.
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Period by period
AD 1 to 1000 (19 individuals)
| Date | Group | Site | Y-DNA | mtDNA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD 653 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Jebel Hawari | J1a2a1a2d2b~ | N1a1a3 |
| AD 668 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Jaher Di Aberho | J2b1 | R0a2 |
| AD 687 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | R0a2 | |
| AD 722 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | R0a1a1a |
| AD 724 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Jaher Di Aberho | I5a2a | |
| AD 725 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2 | R2c |
| AD 827 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Wadi Asserho | J2b1 | K1a4b |
| AD 841 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | R2c | |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | I5a2a |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | J2a2 |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2a2 | |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | U1a1 |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J1b | |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2a2 | |
| AD 900 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | U2b2 |
| AD 950 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Wadi Asserho | T2i | |
| AD 975 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | N1a1a3 | |
| AD 975 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | N1a1a3 |
| AD 984 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | R2c |
After AD 1000 (19 individuals)
| Date | Group | Site | Y-DNA | mtDNA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AD 1011 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | U1a1 | |
| AD 1015 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2a2 | |
| AD 1025 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | R2c | |
| AD 1025 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | R2c |
| AD 1025 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | R0a2 |
| AD 1046 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Sayiher Di Hadiboh | J2b1 | I5a2a |
| AD 1050 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Sayiher Di Hadiboh | I5a2a | |
| AD 1050 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Jebel Hawari | IJK | |
| AD 1050 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Jebel Hawari | F | J1b |
| AD 1086 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | J2b1 | L3h2 |
| AD 1100 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Wadi Asserho | I5a2a | |
| AD 1100 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Wadi Asserho | I5a2a | |
| AD 1101 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Zaflah | K1a4b | |
| AD 1101 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Wadi Asserho | I5a2a | |
| AD 1121 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Wadi Asserho | R0a2 | |
| AD 1125 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Sayiher Di Hadiboh | J1b | |
| AD 1125 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Sayiher Di Hadiboh | J1b | |
| AD 1125 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Sayiher Di Hadiboh | J1b | |
| AD 1168 | Yemen Medieval Soqotri | Sayiher Di Hadiboh | J2b1 | J1b |
Excavation sites
- Zaflah 21, AD 687 to AD 1101
- Sayiher Di Hadiboh 6, AD 1046 to AD 1168
- Wadi Asserho 6, AD 827 to AD 1121
- Jebel Hawari 3, AD 653 to AD 1050
- Jaher Di Aberho 2, AD 668 to AD 724
Source: Allen Ancient DNA Resource v66 (Mallick et al. 2024), individuals with a date and coordinates; samples the AADR flags as misdated are left out. Group names are those of the original studies. Haplogroups are shown when they could be read from the ancient DNA.