At a glance
- When
- the Mesolithic to the Middle Ages
- Where
- the Iberian Peninsula: present-day Spain and Portugal
- Entries in our catalogue
- 659 (495 individual genomes)
- Countries of the finds
- 4
What ancient DNA shows
A 2019 study in Science of several hundred ancient Iberians found that farmers arriving around 5500 BCE largely replaced the ancestry of the local hunter-gatherers, though with some mixing. From about 2500 BCE, people with steppe-related ancestry arrived from Central Europe. Over the following centuries they contributed about four tenths of the population's ancestry and nearly all of its male lineages, as the Y-chromosome lineage R1b-M269 replaced earlier ones.
The same study found that present-day Basques resemble Iron Age Iberians and show little of the ancestry that reached the rest of the peninsula later, which fits their survival as speakers of a language older than the Indo-European languages around them. From the Roman period onwards, people with ancestry from the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa added to the population, and North African ancestry increased further during the period of Muslim rule.
Their genetic legacy today
Present-day Spanish and Portuguese people descend largely from the Iron Age population of the peninsula, with later additions from the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa that vary by region and are lowest among Basques.
Ancient Iberians samples in the MYDNATLAS catalogue
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 659 entries whose culture label names the Ancient Iberians. 495 of them are individual genomes; the others are reference entries, such as averages of several individuals, and samples flagged as outliers. Half of the 658 dated entries fall between 2,800 BCE and 595 BCE, with a median of 1,875 BCE.
Where they were found
| Country | Entries |
|---|---|
| Spain | 648 |
| Portugal | 7 |
| Gibraltar | 2 |
| Italy | 2 |
Most common labels
| Label | Entries |
|---|---|
| Bronze Age Iberia (Spain) | 234 |
| Chalcolithic Iberia (Spain) | 101 |
| Iron Age Iberia (Spain) | 73 |
| Neolithic Iberia (Spain) | 61 |
| Medieval Iberia (Spain) | 52 |
| Iberian Bronze Age | 25 |
Measured from the live catalogue on 2026-10-17. Dates are those recorded for each entry; the archaeological dates of the culture are given above. See our data sources for where the samples come from.
Compare your DNA with the Ancient Iberians
To see how close you sit to Ancient Iberians samples, you need your DNA as G25 coordinates. Download your raw data file from your testing company, convert it, and MYDNATLAS compares your coordinates with these entries and the rest of the catalogue, period by period, in its closest population and mixture tools.
- Download your raw DNA file: step by step for each testing company.
- Upload it from 23andMe, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage or FamilyTreeDNA, or another supported provider.
- Explore the results with the period by period breakdown and closest populations.
Start free: browse the Population Encyclopedia. The Population Encyclopedia is free to browse with a free account; analysing your own DNA needs a paid plan.
Questions
How many Ancient Iberians samples does MYDNATLAS hold?
Our ancient DNA catalogue holds 659 entries labelled as Ancient Iberians, of which 495 are individual genomes; the rest are reference entries such as group averages, and flagged outliers. Figures measured 2026-10-17.
Where were the Ancient Iberians samples found?
They come from 4 countries, most often Spain, Portugal, Gibraltar and Italy. Half of the dated entries fall between 2,800 BCE and 595 BCE.
Did steppe migrants replace the men of Bronze Age Iberia?
In genetic terms, largely. Within a few centuries of about 2500 BCE nearly all sampled Iberian men carried Y-chromosome lineages of steppe origin, although the overall share of steppe ancestry was much lower, around four tenths.