Wichí DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Argentina · Americas
The Wichí live in the Gran Chaco, the hot lowland forests and scrublands of northern Argentina and southern Bolivia, along the Pilcomayo and Bermejo rivers. Their language belongs to the small Matacoan family, and they are known for weaving bags and textiles from the fibre of chaguar, a wild plant of the Chaco. In our model, the Wichí average is 100.0% Native American (Paleo-American), with a fit (0.0414) that shows a long separate history since the early Holocene. Its neighbours are spread widely: the closest modern averages are the Shipibo of the Peruvian Amazon (0.0143), the Piapoco of the Colombian plains and Aymara from Lake Titicaca (0.0185). The closest ancient group is particularly close: people from Laramate in the southern Peruvian Andes, about 900 years ago, at 0.0124, followed by Inca-era Kanamarka and Chincha (0.0152 and 0.0161). Indigenous South Americans share much of their ancestry across very large distances.
- Ancient components in our model: Native American (Paleo-American) 100.0%
- Closest modern population in our data: Shipibo, distance 0.0143
- Closest ancient group in our data: Peru Laramate 900BP, distance 0.0124
Wichí 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 Wichí individuals sampled in Argentina, listed in the G25 sheet as "Wichi". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Wichí average
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Wichí average is explained almost entirely by Native American (Paleo-American) (100.0%). 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.
The fit is loose (fit distance 0.041), 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.
Raíces – Latin American Bloodline
Closest modern populations to Wichí
Ranking every modern population by genetic distance puts Shipibo first for Wichí, at 0.014, then Piapoco and Aymara (Peru Titicaca). Even the tenth closest, Yanesha (Intermediate Selva), is only 0.023 away: Wichí belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shipibo | 0.0143 | Very close |
| 2 | Piapoco | 0.0173 | Very close |
| 3 | Aymara (Peru Titicaca) | 0.0185 | Very close |
| 4 | Ashaninka | 0.0188 | Very close |
| 5 | Huambisa | 0.0190 | Very close |
| 6 | Amerindian (Bolivia La Paz) | 0.0195 | Very close |
| 7 | Uros (Peru Titicaca) | 0.0196 | Very close |
| 8 | Amerindian (Panama) | 0.0200 | Very close |
| 9 | Cashibo | 0.0208 | Very close |
| 10 | Yanesha (Intermediate Selva) | 0.0227 | 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 Wichí
Among ancient genomes, the closest match to the modern Wichí average is Peru Laramate 900BP (c. 1050 AD), at 0.012, followed by Peru Kanamarka LH and Peru Chincha LH. 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 | Peru Laramate 900BP | c. 1050 AD | 0.0124 |
| 2 | Peru Kanamarka LH | Late Horizon, c. 1400-1532 AD | 0.0152 |
| 3 | Peru Chincha LH | Late Horizon, c. 1400-1532 AD | 0.0161 |
| 4 | Peru Ollantaytambo LIP | Late Intermediate Period, c. 1000-1470 AD | 0.0164 |
| 5 | Bahamas Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0168 |
| 6 | Bahamas Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0174 |
| 7 | Peru Machu Piccu LH | Late Horizon, c. 1400-1532 AD | 0.0175 |
| 8 | Haiti Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0176 |
| 9 | Peru Laramate LIP 600BP | c. 1350 AD | 0.0177 |
| 10 | Dominican Republic Ceramic | Ceramic Age, c. 500 BC-1500 AD | 0.0180 |
Ancient DNA from Argentina
Our ancient DNA database holds 643 individuals excavated in present-day Argentina, dated from about 8,082 BC to 1922 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are Q1b (161), Q (22) and C (5), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are C1 (114), D1 (87) and B2 (79). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Wichí population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Argentina
- Eight millennia of continuity of a previously unknown lineage in Argentina (2025)
- The shared genomic history of Middle to Late Holocene Southern Cone populations (2025)
- Eight millennia of continuity of a previously unknown lineage in Argentina (2025)
- Ancient mitochondrial genomes from the Argentinian Pampas inform the early peopling of the Southern Cone of South America (2021)
- Genetic Diversity of a Late Prehispanic Group of the Quebrada de Humahuaca, Northwestern Argentina (2014)
- Paleogenetical study of pre-Columbian samples from Pampa Grande (Salta, Argentina) (2009)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 643 from Argentina.
Compare yourself with Wichí
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Wichí average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Wichí 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 Wichí individuals who were sampled, not every person who identifies as Wichí. 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 Wichí 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 Wichí?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Wichí average is about 100.0% Native American (Paleo-American). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Wichí?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Wichí average are Shipibo, Piapoco and Aymara (Peru Titicaca). The closest ancient matches are Peru Laramate 900BP, Peru Kanamarka LH and Peru Chincha LH.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Wichí?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Wichí 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 Wichí ancestry?
Raíces – Latin American Bloodline is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Wichí 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.