Levantine hunter-gatherers, village traditions and the ancestry behind the first farmers.
📍 RegionIsrael
🧬 Closest modern matchYemeni Mehri Mahra
⏳ Time periodEpipaleolithic · c. 13050–9550 BC
Natufians: settled life before farming
The Natufians lived in the Levant at the end of the Ice Age, when communities began investing more heavily in particular places, building durable homes and maintaining cemeteries. Their world was one of wild plants and hunted animals, yet many of the practices later associated with village farming had already begun to take shape. They are a central reference for the deep ancestry of the southern Levant.
Woodlands, grasslands and a changing climate
Natufian culture extended across the Levant during approximately 13,050–9550 BC. In the Mediterranean woodland zone, communities built rounded structures with stone foundations; others occupied the drier margins farther inland. The period crossed major climatic changes at the close of the Pleistocene. People responded through local combinations of settlement, mobility and resource use, producing a varied cultural landscape rather than a single uniform village pattern.
Gazelle and smaller animals supplied meat, while sickle blades, grinding equipment and plant-processing installations reveal sustained work with gathered plants. Durable buildings and repeatedly used burial places connected communities to their surroundings across generations. Decorated objects and elaborate mortuary practices added another dimension to this increasingly settled way of life. Agriculture subsequently transformed these traditions, but permanent investment in homes and social places did not begin with domesticated crops. Food preparation itself involved substantial investment in tools and places used repeatedly.
Ancient DNA connects Natufian ancestry closely with that of the earliest farmers of the southern Levant. Those farmers also acquired ancestry related to populations farther north, so the transition combined substantial local inheritance with new connections. Natufian-related ancestry forms one of the deep strands later carried by many Levantine populations. In a genetic comparison, this reference therefore highlights a very early southern Levantine background, before the wider interregional mixtures that characterize the Copper and Bronze Ages. Its strongest historical value is as a starting point for following that long regional sequence.
What is Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian DNA closest to?
In the World Genetics modern G25 comparison, the closest non-self match for Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian is Yemeni Mehri Mahra. Other nearby references include Bedouin Sudan Rashaida, Kuwaiti Arab, Bedouin Negev, and Bedouin Jordan. This gives the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian profile its nearest modern genetic context inside the current reference database.
Closest Matches
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What does Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian ancestry look like?
The ancestral breakdown below loads the best-fitting World Genetics calculator for the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian average. It should be read as a model of deep ancestry components, while the closest-match table is the better guide to which modern populations are most similar in G25 space.
Ancestral Breakdown
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Loading ancestral breakdown.
Where is Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian DNA closest on the map?
The heatmap gives the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian profile a geographic shape. Warmer areas mark regions where available modern reference populations sit closer to the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian average, while cooler areas represent more distant matches.
What populations are genetically closest to Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian?
The closest non-self match in this World Genetics comparison is Yemeni Mehri Mahra. Other nearby references include Bedouin Sudan Rashaida, Kuwaiti Arab, Bedouin Negev, and Bedouin Jordan.
Is Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian DNA closest to Yemeni Mehri Mahra?
In the current modern G25 reference set, Yemeni Mehri Mahra is the closest listed match to the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian average after removing Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian itself from the table.
What does the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian heatmap show?
The heatmap shows where modern reference populations are closer or farther from the Israel Epipaleolithic Natufian G25 average, giving the closest-match results a geographic view.
