Pima DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Mexico and United States · Americas
The Pima live in the Sonoran Desert and the Sierra Madre: in Arizona, where the Akimel O'odham (River People) farm along the Gila and Salt rivers, and in Sonora and Chihuahua in Mexico. Their language belongs to the Tepiman branch of the Uto-Aztecan family, and many O'odham see the Hohokam, the desert farmers who dug hundreds of kilometres of irrigation canals in the region over a thousand years ago, as their forebears. In our model, the Pima average is 96.4% Native American (Paleo-American) and 3.6% East Asian, the latter most likely standing for the Northeast Asian side of Native American ancestry rather than recent contact, with no European-related component. The closest modern average is the Nahua (0.0174), linguistic relatives far to the south, followed by the Huichol and Totonac. The closest ancient groups come from northern Mexico and California: Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos in Durango (0.0193) and precolonial people of the Channel Islands, including the Chumash (0.0201).
- Ancient components in our model: Native American (Paleo-American) 96.4%, East Asian 3.6%
- Closest modern population in our data: Nahua, distance 0.0174
- Closest ancient group in our data: Mexico Loma San Gabriel Culture Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos, distance 0.0193
Pima 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 Pima individuals sampled in Mexico and United States. Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Pima average
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Pima average is explained almost entirely by Native American (Paleo-American) (96.4%). 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 East Asian (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 0.017), 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 Pima
Genetically, the Pima average sits nearest to Nahua at 0.017, Huichol at 0.022 and Totonac at 0.024. On our scale, a distance of 0.017 counts as very close. Even the tenth closest, Luiseno, is only 0.029 away: Pima belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahua | 0.0174 | Very close |
| 2 | Huichol | 0.0218 | Very close |
| 3 | Totonac | 0.0241 | Very close |
| 4 | Zapotec | 0.0242 | Very close |
| 5 | Maya | 0.0245 | Very close |
| 6 | Mixtec | 0.0249 | Very close |
| 7 | Maya (other sample set) | 0.0249 | Very close |
| 8 | Mixe | 0.0267 | Close |
| 9 | Maya (Tzotzil) | 0.0272 | Close |
| 10 | Luiseno | 0.0293 | 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 Pima
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Pima average is Mexico Loma San Gabriel Culture Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos, at 0.019, followed by USA San Clemente Island Precolonial and USA Santa Rosa Island Late Precolonial. 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 | Mexico Loma San Gabriel Culture Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos | 0.0193 | |
| 2 | USA San Clemente Island Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0198 |
| 3 | USA Santa Rosa Island Late Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0199 |
| 4 | USA San Cruz Island Precolonial Chumash | Pre-colonial | 0.0201 |
| 5 | Mexico Classic-Postclassic Tayopa | Classic to Postclassic Mesoamerica, c. 250-1520 AD | 0.0207 |
| 6 | USA Santa Rosa Island 3200BP | c. 1250 BC | 0.0213 |
| 7 | Mexico Postclassic Toluquilla | Postclassic Mesoamerica, c. 900-1520 AD | 0.0214 |
| 8 | Mexico La Playa/Cerro de Trincheras Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0214 |
| 9 | USA San Nicolas Late Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0218 |
| 10 | USA California Goleta Precolonial | Pre-colonial | 0.0221 |
Ancient DNA from USA and Mexico
Our ancient DNA database holds 565 individuals excavated in present-day USA and Mexico, dated from about 10,762 BC to 1850 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are Q1b (170), O2a (64) and E1b (31), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are A2 (119), E2 (115) and B2 (53). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Pima population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on USA and Mexico
- The genetic legacy of the 17th-century colonial capital of St. Mary’s City (2026)
- Picuris Pueblo oral history and genomics reveal continuity in US Southwest (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)
- The genome of a Late Pleistocene human from a Clovis burial site in western Montana (2014)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 421 from USA, 144 from Mexico.
Compare yourself with Pima
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Pima average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Pima 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 Pima. 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 Pima 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 Pima?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Pima average is about 96.4% Native American (Paleo-American) and 3.6% East Asian. These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Pima?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Pima average are Nahua, Huichol and Totonac. The closest ancient matches are Mexico Loma San Gabriel Culture Cueva de los Muertos Chiquitos, USA San Clemente Island Precolonial and USA Santa Rosa Island Late Precolonial.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Pima?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Pima 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 Pima ancestry?
Raíces – Latin American Bloodline is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Pima 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.