Dai DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · China (Yunnan) · East Asia
The Dai live in the far south of Yunnan, in Xishuangbanna and Dehong, on the borders of Laos and Myanmar. They speak Tai languages closely related to Lao, Thai and Shan, follow Theravada Buddhism and celebrate their new year with the Water-Splashing Festival. In our model, the Dai average is 45.3% Southern Chinese Neolithic farmer, 27.6% East Asian and 27.1% Southeast Asian Neolithic farmer. That last share, represented by Man Bac in northern Vietnam, is twice that of the Zhuang (13.5%), who speak a related language further east, which fits the idea that Tai speakers mixed with earlier Austroasiatic-speaking peoples as they moved south. The closest modern averages are another Dai sample from Xishuangbanna (0.012), Tai Lue samples from China and Thailand, and Vietnamese Kinh (0.0159 and 0.0166), with the Bouyei of Guizhou close behind. The closest ancient groups are Yuan to Ming-era people from Pingtang Cave in Guizhou (0.0197) and from Dou-Sha-Guan in Yunnan (0.0227).
- Ancient components in our model: Southern Chinese Neolithic farmers 45.3%, East Asian 27.6%, Southeast Asian Neolithic farmers 27.1%
- Closest modern population in our data: Dai (Yunnan Xishuangbanna), distance 0.0120
- Closest ancient group in our data: China Guizhou HP Yuan-Ming Dynasty Pingtang Cave, distance 0.0197
This page sums up what the DNA of the Dai sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in China (Yunnan), and it is one of 335 populations in our atlas. An average describes the group as a whole, not any single person in it.
Ancient make-up of the Dai average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Dai average, 45.3%, goes to Southern Chinese Neolithic farmers, ahead of East Asian (27.6%) and Southeast Asian Neolithic farmers (27.1%). The Southern Chinese Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic rice and millet farmers of southern China, whose descendants spread into Southeast Asia. The East Asian share (27.6%) reflects ancestry most common today in East Asia.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.042), which usually means that none of the available reference populations is a close stand-in for part of this ancestry, so read the percentages as rough. 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.
Fenghuang – Sinosphere Report
Closest modern populations to Dai
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Dai average is Dai (Yunnan Xishuangbanna), at a distance of 0.012 (very close). Next come Tai (Lue) at 0.015 and Tai (Lue Thailand) at 0.016. Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Tai (Lue) (0.015), Tai (Lue Thailand) (0.016) and Vietnamese (Kinh Profile) (0.016). Even the tenth closest, Zhuang (Guangxi Donglan), is only 0.019 away: Dai belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dai (Yunnan Xishuangbanna) | 0.0120 | Very close |
| 2 | Tai (Lue) | 0.0145 | Very close |
| 3 | Tai (Lue Thailand) | 0.0159 | Very close |
| 4 | Vietnamese (Kinh Profile) | 0.0159 | Very close |
| 5 | Kinh | 0.0166 | Very close |
| 6 | Bouyei (Guizhou Anshun Guanling) | 0.0174 | Very close |
| 7 | Zhuang (Yunnan Qiubei) | 0.0178 | Very close |
| 8 | Bouyei (Guizhou Qianxinan Wangmo) | 0.0178 | Very close |
| 9 | Bouyei (Guizhou Qianxinan Ceheng) | 0.0184 | Very close |
| 10 | Zhuang (Guangxi Donglan) | 0.0190 | 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 Dai
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Dai average is China Guizhou HP Yuan-Ming Dynasty Pingtang Cave (Ming dynasty, 1368-1644 AD), at 0.020. China Yunnan HP Yuan Dynasty Dou-Sha-Guan and China Guangxi HP Southern Tang Dynasty Lada come next. 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 | China Guizhou HP Yuan-Ming Dynasty Pingtang Cave | Ming dynasty, 1368-1644 AD | 0.0197 |
| 2 | China Yunnan HP Yuan Dynasty Dou-Sha-Guan | Historical period | 0.0227 |
| 3 | China Guangxi HP Southern Tang Dynasty Lada | Tang dynasty, 618-907 AD | 0.0233 |
| 4 | China Guangxi HP Sui-Tang Dynasty Shenxian | Tang dynasty, 618-907 AD | 0.0249 |
| 5 | China Yunnan HP Nanzhao-Dali Long Ma | Historical period | 0.0266 |
| 6 | China Shenxian 1300BP | c. 650 AD | 0.0292 |
| 7 | China Lada 1300BP | c. 650 AD | 0.0305 |
| 8 | China Yiyang 1300BP | c. 650 AD | 0.0331 |
| 9 | China Yunnan HP Hanging Coffin-Nanzhao Wa Shi | Historical period | 0.0349 |
| 10 | China Guangxi HP Jin-Southern Dynasties Layi | Historical period | 0.0352 |
Ancient DNA from China
Our ancient DNA database holds 2,865 individuals excavated in present-day China, dated from about 100,550 BC to 1823 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are O2a (168), C2b (74) and N1b (59), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are D4 (208), C4 (121) and B4 (72). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Dai population.
Ancient sample data compiled by Nomad on the GenArchivist forum.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups in ancient samples from China
Most frequent mtDNA haplogroups in ancient samples from China
| Haplogroup | Ancient individuals | Example samples |
|---|---|---|
| D4 | 208 | NE34 NE-5 NE5_AmurRiver |
| C4 | 121 | WQM4 NE9 NE-9 |
| B4 | 72 | Tianyuan BS Dushan4-1 |
| F1 | 68 | NE19 WGM35 18R21265 |
| D5 | 50 | BLSM14 BLSM27S BLSM45 |
| U5 | 49 | NLKG218_M5-1 G218M5-3N C3340 |
| G2 | 45 | NE56 JZ24089582-C24-22 S96 |
| A | 35 | M89_Houtaomuga JZ24089566-C8-28 ZJG7 |
Ancient DNA studies on China
- Ancient DNA unveils distinctive ancestries in the Bronze and Iron Ages of East Tianshan (2026)
- Ancient DNA unveils distinctive ancestries in the Bronze and Iron Ages of East Tianshan (2026)
- Ancient DNA unveils distinctive ancestries in the Bronze and Iron Ages of East Tianshan (2026)
- Genomic characterization of historical Jinlingnan individuals: insights into genetic continuity and trans-Eurasian signals in eastern China (2026)
- Go north: Isotope and aDNA analysis reconstructing the life history of a first-generation immigrant in the early Western Zhou Yan state (2026)
- A prehistoric East-Asian Yersinia pestis genome and a ~5.3 ka trans-Eurasian expansion of plague (2026)
- Genomic signatures of female exogamy and cultural interaction in a Tang Dynasty patrilineal clan (2026)
- Genetic continuity and dietary change during the emergence of millet farming in northern China (2026)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 2,865 from China.
Compare yourself with Dai
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Dai average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Dai 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
A word of caution: these figures describe the average of the Dai individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Dai. Individuals vary around that average, and identity is about history, language and family, not about a genetic score. Read this page as a map of deep ancestry, not as a definition.
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.
Thanks: to Nomad (GenArchivist) for the population and ancient sample collection this atlas is built on, and to Davidski (Eurogenes) for Global25.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Dai average. Your own DNA has its own story: Fenghuang – Sinosphere Report (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 for people of Sinosphere / East Asian ancestry: ancient regional core (Yellow & Yangtze River Neolithic, Erlitou/Shang/Zhou dynasties, Han Dynasty, Yayoi migration, Tang Dynasty, Manchu/Qing era) versus non-regional outside...
More populations from East Asia
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Dai?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Dai average is about 45.3% Southern Chinese Neolithic farmers, 27.6% East Asian and 27.1% Southeast Asian Neolithic farmers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Dai?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Dai (Yunnan Xishuangbanna)), the closest modern populations to the Dai average are Tai (Lue), Tai (Lue Thailand) and Vietnamese (Kinh Profile). The closest ancient matches are China Guizhou HP Yuan-Ming Dynasty Pingtang Cave, China Yunnan HP Yuan Dynasty Dou-Sha-Guan and China Guangxi HP Southern Tang Dynasty Lada.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Dai?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Dai 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 Dai ancestry?
For the Dai average, the regional report to choose is Fenghuang – Sinosphere Report, which our fit test rates as a good match. 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.