Maya DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Mexico and Guatemala · Americas
The Maya live in southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, and more than six million people still speak one of some thirty Mayan languages. The Classic Maya civilisation, at its height between about 250 and 900 AD, built cities such as Tikal and Palenque and developed the best understood writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas. In our model, the Maya average is 96.9% Native American (Paleo-American) and 3.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, most likely a small European-related trace from the colonial period. The Native American reference is an early Holocene genome from Lapa do Santo in Brazil, and the close fit (0.0141) shows how much Indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and South America share. After another Maya sample (0.0075), the closest averages are Mixtec, Zapotec and Totonac from Mexico, but also Quechua from Peru (0.0202). The closest ancient groups are early Holocene people from Sumidouro and Lapa do Santo in Brazil, about 10,000 years old (0.0197 and 0.0239).
- Ancient components in our model: Native American (Paleo-American) 96.9%, Anatolian Neolithic farmers 3.1%
- Closest modern population in our data: Maya (other sample set), distance 0.0075
- Closest ancient group in our data: Brazil Sumidouro 10100BP, distance 0.0197
This page sums up what the DNA of the Maya sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Mexico and Guatemala, listed in the G25 sheet as "Mayan", 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 Maya average
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Maya average is explained almost entirely by Native American (Paleo-American) (96.9%). 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.
Smaller traces of Anatolian Neolithic farmers (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The model fits well (fit distance 0.014), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. 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 Maya
Among the modern populations in the G25 data, the closest to the Maya average is Maya (other sample set), at a distance of 0.008 (very close). Next come Mixtec at 0.016 and Zapotec at 0.017. Even the tenth closest, Pima, is only 0.025 away: Maya belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maya (other sample set) | 0.0075 | Very close |
| 2 | Mixtec | 0.0160 | Very close |
| 3 | Zapotec | 0.0171 | Very close |
| 4 | Totonac | 0.0179 | Very close |
| 5 | Cachi | 0.0192 | Very close |
| 6 | Yanesha (High Selva) | 0.0198 | Very close |
| 7 | Quechua (Peru) | 0.0202 | Very close |
| 8 | Nahua | 0.0212 | Very close |
| 9 | Luiseno | 0.0245 | Very close |
| 10 | Pima | 0.0245 | 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 Maya
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Maya average is Brazil Sumidouro 10100BP (c. 8150 BC), at 0.020. Brazil Lapa Do Santo 9900BP and Mexico Postclassic-Postconquest Las Palmas Culture Pericues 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 | Brazil Sumidouro 10100BP | c. 8150 BC | 0.0197 |
| 2 | Brazil Lapa Do Santo 9900BP | c. 7950 BC | 0.0239 |
| 3 | Mexico Postclassic-Postconquest Las Palmas Culture Pericues | Postclassic Mesoamerica, c. 900-1520 AD | 0.0242 |
| 4 | Brazil Lapa Do Santo 9600BP | c. 7650 BC | 0.0246 |
| 5 | USA California Carmel Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0255 |
| 6 | USA San Nicolas Early Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0255 |
| 7 | USA San Nicolas Late Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0256 |
| 8 | USA San Clemente Island Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0257 |
| 9 | USA San Catalina Island [Pre-]Colonial Period | Colonial era, c. 1500-1850 AD | 0.0259 |
| 10 | USA Santa Rosa Island 4900BP | c. 2950 BC | 0.0260 |
Ancient DNA from Mexico
Our ancient DNA database holds 144 individuals excavated in present-day Mexico, dated from about 860 BC to 1610 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are Q1b (92), E1b (3) and P1 (3), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are A2 (47), B2 (31) and C1 (24). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Maya population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Mexico
- Numbers and Bodies: Potential Early Numeration on a Middle Preclassic Figurine from La Blanca, Guatemala (2026)
- Merchant guilds in ancient Mesoamerica and their origins (2025)
- Exploring the Pathogen Profiles of Ancient Feces (2025)
- Ancient genomes reveal insights into ritual life at Chichén Itzá (2024)
- High levels of consanguinity in a child from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico (2024)
- Demographic history and genetic structure in pre-Hispanic Central Mexico (2023)
- Origin and Health Status of First-Generation Africans from Early Colonial Mexico (2020)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 144 from Mexico.
Compare yourself with Maya
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Maya average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Maya 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 Maya individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Maya. 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 Maya 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 Maya?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Maya average is about 96.9% Native American (Paleo-American) and 3.1% Anatolian Neolithic farmers. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Maya?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Maya average are Maya (other sample set), Mixtec and Zapotec. The closest ancient matches are Brazil Sumidouro 10100BP, Brazil Lapa Do Santo 9900BP and Mexico Postclassic-Postconquest Las Palmas Culture Pericues.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Maya?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Maya 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 Maya ancestry?
Raíces – Latin American Bloodline is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Maya 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.