Gond DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · India · South Asia
The Gond are one of the largest Adivasi (tribal) peoples of India, living across the forested hills of central India, from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to Maharashtra, Telangana and Odisha. Gondi belongs to the Dravidian family, and Gond kingdoms such as Garha-Mandla and Chanda ruled parts of the region until the 18th century. In our model, the Gond average is 88.9% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) and 11.1% Southeast Asian Neolithic farmer, with no separate steppe or Iranian-related component. That Southeast Asian component is the signature of the Austroasiatic (Munda) speakers of eastern India, and the Gond carry about half as much as the Munda average (21.8%), a sign of long contact between Dravidian and Munda-speaking communities. Fittingly, the closest modern average is the Mahali of Odisha, a Munda-speaking group, at a very close 0.007, ahead of other Gond samples from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and the Kurukh (Oraon). Ancient genomes are far away, the nearest at around 0.13.
- Ancient components in our model: South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) 88.9%, Southeast Asian Neolithic farmers 11.1%
- Closest modern population in our data: Mahali (Odisha), distance 0.0070
- Closest ancient group in our data: Andaman Islands 100BP (Great Andamanese), distance 0.1267
Gond 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 Gond individuals sampled in India. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Gond average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Gond average comes out as 88.9% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) and 11.1% Southeast Asian Neolithic farmers. The South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) component reflects the deep hunter-gatherer ancestry of South Asia (Ancient Ancestral South Indians). With well over half of the total, this single source dominates the profile.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.026): 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.
Closest modern populations to Gond
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Mahali (Odisha) first for Gond, at 0.007, then Gond (Madhya Pradesh) and Gond (Chhattisgarh). Leaving aside the other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet, the nearest other populations are Mahali (Odisha) (0.007), Mahali (Jharkhand) (0.015) and Kurukh (Jharkhand, Oraon) (0.017). Even the tenth closest, Konda (Kummari), is only 0.022 away: Gond belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mahali (Odisha) | 0.0070 | Very close |
| 2 | Gond (Madhya Pradesh) | 0.0100 | Very close |
| 3 | Gond (Chhattisgarh) | 0.0113 | Very close |
| 4 | Mahali (Jharkhand) | 0.0149 | Very close |
| 5 | Kurukh (Jharkhand, Oraon) | 0.0170 | Very close |
| 6 | Lohra | 0.0175 | Very close |
| 7 | Asur | 0.0190 | Very close |
| 8 | Halba (Chhattisgarh) | 0.0205 | Very close |
| 9 | Gorait (Jharkhand) | 0.0219 | Very close |
| 10 | Konda (Kummari) | 0.0219 | 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 Gond
If we search ancient DNA for the best match to Gond, Andaman Islands 100BP (Great Andamanese) (c. 1850 AD) comes first, at 0.127, with Laos Hoabinhian next. Even the best ancient match is distant, so the modern population is better described as a blend of several ancestral sources than as the continuation of one. 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 | Andaman Islands 100BP (Great Andamanese) | c. 1850 AD | 0.1267 |
| 2 | Laos Hoabinhian | Hoabinhian foragers (pre-Neolithic) | 0.1287 |
| 3 | Malaysia Hoabinhian | Hoabinhian foragers (pre-Neolithic) | 0.1426 |
| 4 | India Uttarakhand Early Medieval Roopkund c.800CE (South Asian Profile) | c. 800 AD | 0.1535 |
| 5 | China Yunnan EN Xingyi | Early Neolithic | 0.1614 |
| 6 | China Amur River 33000BP | c. 31050 BC | 0.1808 |
| 7 | China Beijing EUP Tianyuan | Early Upper Palaeolithic | 0.1881 |
| 8 | Mongolia EUP Salkhit | Early Upper Palaeolithic | 0.1992 |
| 9 | Iran EBA Shahr-i-Sokhta (IVC Profile) | Early Bronze Age | 0.2055 |
| 10 | Tibet Early Modern Guge Kingdom Guge Ganshidong | Early Modern, c. 1500-1800 AD | 0.2068 |
Ancient DNA from India
Our ancient DNA database holds 59 individuals excavated in present-day India, dated from about 2,350 BC to 1860 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R2a (4), H1a (3) and J2b (3), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are M3 (6), H1 (4) and U2 (4). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Gond population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on India
- Blending borders: reconstructing the genetic history of the Sindhi population (2026)
- Blending borders: reconstructing the genetic history of the Sindhi population (2026)
- The Old Lady spider cave skeletons in Ladakh have diverse maternal genetic origin (2026)
- Layers in the sand: The genetic imprint of migration, culture, and Indus craft in the Thar desert (2026)
- Admixture and Genetic Connectivity: Autosomal Insights Into Indo-Aryan Speakers at the Eastern Edge of the Indian Subcontinent (2026)
- Novel 4400-year-old ancestral component in a tribe speaking a Dravidian language (2025)
- Ancient mitogenomes from Neolithic, megalithic and medieval burials suggest complex genetic history of Kashmir valley, India (2025)
- 50,000 years of evolutionary history of India: Impact on health and disease variation (2025)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 59 from India.
Compare yourself with Gond
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Gond average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Gond 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 Gond individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Gond. 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.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Gond average. For your own DNA, Advanced Ancestry Report (16€) gives a full ancestry breakdown with no regional focus, in a personal PDF report.
Comprehensive DNA analysis comparing your genetics to over 2,000 modern reference populations.
More populations from South Asia
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Gond?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Gond average is about 88.9% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) and 11.1% 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 Gond?
Leaving aside other regional samples listed under the same name in the G25 sheet (such as Gond (Madhya Pradesh)), the closest modern populations to the Gond average are Mahali (Odisha), Mahali (Jharkhand) and Kurukh (Jharkhand, Oraon). The closest ancient matches are Andaman Islands 100BP (Great Andamanese), Laos Hoabinhian and Malaysia Hoabinhian.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Gond?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Gond 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 Gond ancestry?
Our regional report for this part of the world does not fit the Gond average closely, so the full Advanced Ancestry Report (no regional focus) is the better choice. The DNA Mega-Analysis adds Neanderthal %, traits and closest ancient populations. The free Report Finder checks every report against your own DNA first.
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.