For most of human history, we did not own the land.
Before We Settled, We Belonged
For over 200,000 years, humans lived as part of the earth — moving with seasons, reading landscapes, sharing what they found. This is not where humanity started. This is how humanity lived.
Who the Hunter-Gatherers Were
They were not primitive. They were deeply skilled, socially complex, and intimately connected to the living world around them.
Knowledge Keepers
Hunter-gatherers carried vast ecological knowledge — understanding hundreds of plant species, animal behaviors, weather patterns, and seasonal rhythms. This wisdom was passed through generations, refined over millennia.
Cooperative Societies
Survival depended on sharing. Food, shelter, knowledge, and care were distributed across groups. This deep cooperation shaped how we relate to one another — patterns still visible in human behavior today.
Adaptive Resilience
From ice-age tundra to tropical forests, hunter-gatherers adapted to nearly every environment on Earth. Their flexibility and problem-solving allowed humans to thrive across the planet.
"They did not conquer the land. They learned to live within it."
Life Before Agriculture
Agriculture was not an upgrade. It was a transition — one that changed how humans related to time, place, and each other.
Seasonal Movement
Hunter-gatherers followed the rhythms of the earth — migrating with herds, returning to familiar grounds when plants ripened, moving toward water sources as seasons changed. Home was not a fixed place, but a territory of belonging.
Diet Diversity
Rather than relying on a few cultivated crops, hunter-gatherers ate what the land provided — a varied diet of wild plants, nuts, fruits, game, fish, and insects. This diversity shaped human metabolism in ways that persist today.
Kinship and Sharing
Resources were shared, not hoarded. Social bonds extended beyond immediate family into wider networks of mutual support. This web of relationships provided security in an unpredictable world.
The Genetic Legacy That Remains
Hunter-gatherer ancestry did not disappear. It mixed with farming populations and persists in modern DNA — not as destiny, but as memory.
Your DNA carries signals from populations that lived before agriculture existed. These genetic variants influenced how ancient humans processed food, responded to pathogens, and adapted to their environments.
Metabolic Adaptation
Genes related to fat storage, glucose metabolism, and dietary processing evolved in environments where food availability varied seasonally.
Immune Response
Exposure to diverse environments shaped immune system genes. Some protective variants from hunter-gatherer populations persist in modern humans.
Sensory Perception
Variants affecting taste, smell, and vision may trace back to foraging lifestyles where identifying safe foods was essential for survival.
A note on interpretation: Genetic ancestry describes patterns of inheritance, not predetermined outcomes. These are echoes of adaptation, not blueprints for behavior.
What This Report Reveals
This is not a list of traits. It is a reflection — showing how your DNA connects to the populations that lived before the agricultural revolution.
Ancestry Proportions
See how much of your genetic ancestry traces to hunter-gatherer populations versus early farming groups. These proportions tell a story of mixture and continuity.
Geographic Origins
Explore the regions where your ancient ancestors lived — from the forests of Europe to the mountains of the Near East, from African savannas to Asian river valleys.
Deep Time Connections
Trace your genetic signals back through 12,000 years of human history, connecting to authenticated ancient DNA samples from archaeological sites.
Population Comparisons
Compare your results to 50+ ancient populations, seeing which groups your DNA most closely resembles among hunter-gatherers, early farmers, maritime communities, and island populations.
Closest Ancient Matches
Discover your top genetic matches in a visual gallery format, showing the ancient individuals whose DNA most closely resembles yours across different lifestyle categories.
AI-Powered Analysis
Get personalized insights about your migration patterns, Neolithic transition, and inherited traits through our AI assistant, with suggested questions to explore your heritage.
Interactive Charts
Visualize your ancestry through lifestyle breakdown charts, era distribution graphs, and diversity scores that reveal patterns in your genetic heritage.
Population Explorer
Search, filter, and sort through all ancient populations by type, era, location, or match percentage. Find exactly what you're looking for with powerful filtering tools.
"These are not traits from the past. They are part of how your body learned to survive."
The Report Experience
Designed for understanding, not speed. Every element is built to help you connect with the people whose DNA you carry.
Interactive Maps
Explore where ancient populations lived with interactive maps featuring marker clustering, detailed popups, and color-coded markers showing archaeological sites and migration patterns across four continents.
Interactive Timeline
Journey through 12,000 years of human history with an interactive timeline featuring zoom controls to explore different time periods, connecting your ancestry to specific eras and populations.
Bento Gallery
Meet your closest ancient matches in a beautiful bento grid layout, showing your top genetic connections with portraits, match percentages, and quick access to detailed profiles.
Charts & Analytics
Visualize your ancestry through lifestyle breakdown pie charts, era distribution bar graphs, and diversity scores that reveal meaningful patterns in your genetic heritage.
AI Assistant
Get AI-powered explanations of your results with suggested questions about ancient lifestyles, migration patterns, Neolithic transition, and inherited traits. Ask anything about your heritage.
Population Explorer
Search, filter, and sort through all ancient populations by type (Farmer, Hunter, Maritime, Islander), era, location, or match percentage. Find exactly what you're looking for with powerful filtering tools.
Contextual Explanations
Every population comes with detailed context — who they were, where they lived, what their world was like, and how they connect to you.
Ancient Portraits
Meet your ancient matches through scientifically-informed reconstructions that bring ancient populations to life with dignity and accuracy.
Sample Populations Included
Click to explore individual profiles
Explore Ancient Population Locations
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Grounded in Research
Our analysis is built on peer-reviewed ancient DNA research. We present findings with appropriate uncertainty — because honest science acknowledges what it doesn't yet know.
Authenticated samples from Mesolithic and Neolithic periods
From published archaeological studies worldwide
Spanning the Mesolithic through early Bronze Age
Our Approach
ADMIXTURE Analysis
We use established population genetics methods to estimate ancestry proportions, comparing your DNA to reference populations from ancient samples.
Genetic Distance
PCA coordinates and genetic distance calculations show how closely your DNA clusters with different ancient populations.
Published Research
All ancient samples come from peer-reviewed studies published in journals like Nature, Science, and Cell.
Interpreting uncertainty: Ancient DNA analysis involves statistical estimates, not certainties. We present ranges and confidence levels because that's what the science supports.
The First Way of Being Human
You carry the genetic memory of humanity's first way of being.
Before cities. Before borders. Before history. There was this.
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Before cities. Before borders. Before history.
There was this.
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