Aymara DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Bolivia and Peru · Americas
The Aymara live on the Altiplano, the high plateau around Lake Titicaca shared by Bolivia, Peru and Chile. Aymara, spoken by about two million people, is one of the official languages of Bolivia, and the region was home to Tiwanaku, a great Andean state of the first millennium AD. In our model, the Aymara average is 100.0% Native American (Paleo-American), measured against an early Holocene genome from Brazil, with an acceptable fit (0.033). The ancient results show deep local roots: the closest groups are Late Intermediate Period people from the Chincha valley and Ollantaytambo (0.0157 and 0.016), Early Intermediate Period Ullujaya and Inca-era Machu Picchu, all within 0.017, which fits the strong genetic continuity found in the central Andes. The closest modern averages are other Aymara samples, the Uros of Lake Titicaca (0.0177) and Quechua speakers from the same shores.
- Ancient components in our model: Native American (Paleo-American) 100.0%
- Closest modern population in our data: Aymara (Peru Titicaca), distance 0.0162
- Closest ancient group in our data: Peru Middle Chincha Valley LIP, distance 0.0157
Aymara is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Aymara individuals sampled in Bolivia and Peru. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Aymara average
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Aymara average is explained almost entirely by Native American (Paleo-American) (100.0%). The Native American (Paleo-American) component reflects the ancestry of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. That does not make the population uniform: the model simply has no finer reference population for this part of the world, and the closest populations below show the detail it cannot.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.033): treat the proportions as a good approximation rather than exact values. This population was modelled with a global set of reference populations (ancient genomes, plus modern stand-ins where no suitable ancient genome exists), because West Eurasian sources alone cannot describe it.
Raíces – Latin American Bloodline
Closest modern populations to Aymara
Genetically, the Aymara average sits nearest to Aymara (Peru Titicaca) at 0.016, Aymara (Bolivia) at 0.016 and Uros (Peru Titicaca) at 0.018. On our scale, a distance of 0.016 counts as very close. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Uros (Peru Titicaca) (0.018), Quechua (Peru Titicaca) (0.018) and Amerindian (Bolivia La Paz) (0.018). Even the tenth closest, Amerindian (Panama), is only 0.021 away: Aymara belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aymara (Peru Titicaca) | 0.0162 | Very close |
| 2 | Aymara (Bolivia) | 0.0164 | Very close |
| 3 | Uros (Peru Titicaca) | 0.0177 | Very close |
| 4 | Quechua (Peru Titicaca) | 0.0181 | Very close |
| 5 | Amerindian (Bolivia La Paz) | 0.0183 | Very close |
| 6 | Ashaninka | 0.0187 | Very close |
| 7 | Yanesha (Intermediate Selva) | 0.0196 | Very close |
| 8 | Shipibo | 0.0202 | Very close |
| 9 | Amerindian (Guatemala) | 0.0208 | Very close |
| 10 | Amerindian (Panama) | 0.0210 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Aymara
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Aymara average is Peru Middle Chincha Valley LIP (Late Intermediate Period, c. 1000-1470 AD), at 0.016, followed by Peru Ollantaytambo LIP and Peru Ullujaya EIP 1350BP. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peru Middle Chincha Valley LIP | Late Intermediate Period, c. 1000-1470 AD | 0.0157 |
| 2 | Peru Ollantaytambo LIP | Late Intermediate Period, c. 1000-1470 AD | 0.0160 |
| 3 | Peru Ullujaya EIP 1350BP | c. 600 AD | 0.0161 |
| 4 | Bahamas Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0162 |
| 5 | Peru Machu Piccu LH | Late Horizon, c. 1400-1532 AD | 0.0167 |
| 6 | Bahamas Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0167 |
| 7 | Dominican Republic Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0174 |
| 8 | Puerto Rico Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0175 |
| 9 | Saint Lucia Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0176 |
| 10 | Argentina Traslasierra 800BP | c. 1150 AD | 0.0178 |
Ancient DNA from Peru and Bolivia
Our ancient DNA database holds 605 individuals excavated in present-day Peru and Bolivia, dated from about 7,055 BC to 1566 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are Q1b (83), Q1a (3) and Q (2), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are B2 (159), C1 (129) and D1 (92). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Aymara population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
| Haplogroup | Individuals | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Q1b | 83 | I0038 I0238 SMP5 |
| Q1a | 3 | skeleton_9 skeleton_2 skeleton_6 |
| Q | 2 | I0979 IO1 |
| F | 1 | I2543 |
| P1 | 1 | I1396 |
Ancient DNA studies on Peru and Bolivia
- Ancient DNA reveals a family ossuary and long-distance migration on the Pacific coast before the Inca Empire (2026)
- Rapid adaptive increase of amylase gene copy number in Indigenous Andeans (2026)
- Unraveling the genetic landscape and admixture dynamics of urban populations across Peru (2026)
- Human population history on the North Coast of peru from Y chromosomes and mitogenomes (2025)
- The peruvian genome project: expanding the global pool of genome diversity from South America (2025)
- Family relations of Moche elite burials on the North Coast of Peru (~500 CE): Analyses of the Señora de Cao and relatives (2024)
- The multifaceted genomic history of Ashaninka from Amazonian Peru (2023)
- Insights into the genetic histories and lifeways of Machu Picchu's occupants (2023)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 561 from Peru, 44 from Bolivia.
Compare yourself with Aymara
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Aymara average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Aymara and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
Keep in mind that a population average is a statistical summary of a limited number of sampled individuals. Real people inside any group vary, some carry more of one ancestry and some less, and no genetic profile decides who is or is not Aymara. Use these numbers as a map of deep ancestry, not as a label.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Aymara average. Your own DNA has its own story: Raíces – Latin American Bloodline (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built only for Latinos: pick your country and we model your DNA against its indigenous peoples plus every Old-World source of Latin American history, on an interactive map.
More populations from Americas
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Aymara?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Aymara average is about 100.0% Native American (Paleo-American). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Aymara?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Aymara (Peru Titicaca)), the closest modern populations to the Aymara average are Uros (Peru Titicaca), Quechua (Peru Titicaca) and Amerindian (Bolivia La Paz). The closest ancient matches are Peru Middle Chincha Valley LIP, Peru Ollantaytambo LIP and Peru Ullujaya EIP 1350BP.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Aymara?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Aymara average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Aymara ancestry?
Raíces – Latin American Bloodline is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Aymara average closely. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.