Tamil DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Sri Lanka and India · South Asia
Tamil is one of the oldest literary languages of South Asia, with a classical poetry tradition about 2,000 years old, and it belongs to the Dravidian family. It is spoken in Tamil Nadu in southern India and in northern and eastern Sri Lanka. This page uses the Sri Lankan Tamil average. In our model, it is 77.3% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy), 17.4% Iranian Neolithic farmer and only 5.4% steppe, one of the smaller steppe shares among the South Asian pages of our atlas. The most telling result is in the neighbours: a Sri Lankan average sits at 0.0077 and the Sinhalese at 0.0095, closer than any Tamil sample from India, even though Sinhala is an Indo-Aryan language. Tamil samples from Tamil Nadu, Mukkulathor Kallar and Paravar, follow at around 0.011, together with Telugu Naidu samples. The closest ancient group is the South Asian profile at Roopkund, around 800 AD (0.0451).
- Ancient components in our model: South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) 77.3%, Iranian Neolithic farmers 17.4%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 5.4%
- Closest modern population in our data: Sri Lankan, distance 0.0077
- Closest ancient group in our data: India Uttarakhand Early Medieval Roopkund c.800CE (South Asian Profile), distance 0.0451
This page sums up what the DNA of the Tamil sample tells us about deep origins. It is built from the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of individuals sampled in Sri Lanka and India, listed in the G25 sheet as "Tamil_Sri_Lanka", 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 Tamil average
In a model built from deep ancestral reference populations, the largest share of the Tamil average, 77.3%, goes to South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy), ahead of Iranian Neolithic farmers (17.4%) and Steppe herders (Yamnaya) (5.4%). The South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy) component reflects the deep hunter-gatherer ancestry of South Asia (Ancient Ancestral South Indians). The Iranian Neolithic farmers share (17.4%) reflects the early farmers and herders of the Zagros mountains in Iran. With well over half of the total, this single source dominates the profile.
The fit is acceptable (fit distance 0.027): 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.
Sindhu – South Asian Report
Closest modern populations to Tamil
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Sri Lankan first for Tamil, at 0.008, then Sinhalese and Telugu (Naidu Andhra Pradesh). Even the tenth closest, Yadava, is only 0.013 away: Tamil belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sri Lankan | 0.0077 | Very close |
| 2 | Sinhalese | 0.0095 | Very close |
| 3 | Telugu (Naidu Andhra Pradesh) | 0.0099 | Very close |
| 4 | Tamil (Mukkulathor Kallar) | 0.0103 | Very close |
| 5 | Tamil (Paravar Tamil Nadu) | 0.0112 | Very close |
| 6 | Konkani Brahmin (Gaud Saraswat Telangana) | 0.0116 | Very close |
| 7 | Telugu (Bestha) | 0.0116 | Very close |
| 8 | Telugu Muslim (Dudekula) | 0.0119 | Very close |
| 9 | Sinhala | 0.0127 | Very close |
| 10 | Yadava | 0.0128 | 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 Tamil
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Tamil average is India Uttarakhand Early Medieval Roopkund c.800CE (South Asian Profile) (c. 800 AD), at 0.045. Iran EBA Shahr-i-Sokhta (IVC Profile) and Pakistan IA Aligrama come next. That is a close match: much of the modern profile was already present then, while later movements of people added further layers. 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 | India Uttarakhand Early Medieval Roopkund c.800CE (South Asian Profile) | c. 800 AD | 0.0451 |
| 2 | Iran EBA Shahr-i-Sokhta (IVC Profile) | Early Bronze Age | 0.0896 |
| 3 | Pakistan IA Aligrama | Iron Age | 0.1068 |
| 4 | Pakistan HP Butkara | Historical period | 0.1144 |
| 5 | Pakistan HP Aligrama | Historical period | 0.1238 |
| 6 | Pakistan HP Saidu Sharif | Historical period | 0.1323 |
| 7 | China Shaanxi HP Northern Zhou Dynasty Xi'an (Burusho Profile) | Northern Zhou dynasty, 557-581 AD | 0.1326 |
| 8 | Pakistan IA Katelai | Iron Age | 0.1454 |
| 9 | Pakistan HP Barikot | Historical period | 0.1465 |
| 10 | Pakistan IA Gogdara | Iron Age | 0.1477 |
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 Tamil 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)
- Sri Lankan maternal ancestry reveals early migrations from Africa along the Indian Ocean (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)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 59 from India.
Compare yourself with Tamil
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Tamil average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Tamil 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 Tamil. 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 Tamil average. Your own DNA has its own story: Sindhu – South Asian 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 South Asian ancestry: ancient regional core (Indus Valley Civilization, BMAC, Steppe migration, Himalayan Iron Age & Classical layers) versus non-regional outside admixture, across 13 communities (Punjabi...
More populations from South Asia
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Tamil?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Tamil average is about 77.3% South Asian hunter-gatherer related (Irula proxy), 17.4% Iranian Neolithic farmers and 5.4% Steppe herders (Yamnaya). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Tamil?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Tamil average are Sri Lankan, Sinhalese and Telugu (Naidu Andhra Pradesh). The closest ancient matches are India Uttarakhand Early Medieval Roopkund c.800CE (South Asian Profile), Iran EBA Shahr-i-Sokhta (IVC Profile) and Pakistan IA Aligrama.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Tamil?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Tamil 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 Tamil ancestry?
Sindhu – South Asian Report is our regional report for this part of the world. On the Tamil average its fit test reads partial, so check your own DNA first: the free Report Finder runs that test on your file.
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.