Guardians of the Highlands: Xinjiang Yak herders

Guardians of the Highlands: Xinjiang Yak herders

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What's included in this test?

  • This test provides powerful, innovative, and interactive DNA-based tools to help you find your ancient ancestors, trace your prehistoric lineages, and determine your ancient tribal origins.
  • Find out how related you are to the Xinjiang Yak herders (3002-1958 BC). from these sites
  • Receive a detailed breakdown of your ancient geographical origins, ancient ancestry maps showing where your ancestors lived and traveled, and your exact genetic similarity to each member of your ancient tribe.
  • Compare your results with over 50 worldwide ancient and modern populations.
  • After 60 centuries, you can reconnect with your Xinjiang ancestors at a deeper level than ever imagined.
  • Help us to find out what happened to the Xinjiang people using the power of genetics.
  • Meet the ancient Xinjiang – Their Story can be Your Story.
  • Basic test includes 5 members.
  • Advanced test includes 28 members.

About the test

Did your ancestors roam the vast mountain valleys of Xinjiang, herding yaks, forging bronze, and guarding trade routes through Asia’s rooftop?

This test traces your connection to early Bronze Age herding cultures of Xinjiang — pastoral pioneers who adapted to harsh climates, managed highland routes, and formed early links between Central Asia and China. These groups domesticated yaks, crafted early bronzeware, and may have served as intermediaries between Chinese and steppe civilizations long before the Silk Road began.

Sampled from:
  • Xinjiang, Yili Region (Nileke County) — Highland herders at site G218, showing early yak domestication
  • Xinjiang, Aletai (Altay) Region:
    • Qinghe County, Chaganguole — revealing cultural exchanges with Eurasian steppes
    • Jimunai (Jeminay) County, Songshugou — a rich Bronze Age burial zone
    • Buerjin (Burqin) County, Bolati — associated with early metallurgy
    • Habahe County (Ayituohan, Tuoganbai, and Habahe sites) — showing extended pastoral networks
  • Xinjiang, Beifang — representing additional genetic diversity of early steppe herders
  • Henan, Luohe (Haojiatai site) — included to test for eastern influence from Central Plains interaction
This test reveals:
  • Connections to ancient highland pastoralists who herded yaks and moved goods across the Altai and Tianshan mountains
  • Your ties to early East-West Bronze Age exchanges before the Silk Road
  • Whether your ancestry is linked to the hardy herding cultures that connected China, Mongolia, and Central Asia
Your personalized report includes:
  • Direct comparison to ancient people remains from key artchologicla sites
  • mtDNA and Y-DNA haplogroup comparisons
  • Breakdown of your ancient DNA components
  • Contextual historical insights
Perfect for:
  • People with ancestry from western China, Mongolia, or Central Asia
  • Those interested in steppe cultures, Bronze Age trade, or yak domestication
  • Explorers of early trans-Eurasian connectivity
Find out if your DNA carries the legacy of the highland yak herders — the unsung guardians of ancient Asian frontiers.

Why take this test

For most of human history, our ancestors vanished into the mist of time—no names, no stories, no graves to visit. Until just a decade ago, it was impossible to trace your roots beyond a few centuries. DNA testing could only compare your genetic code to modern people, offering vague and often misleading guesses about your origins based on present-day populations that didn’t exist in the ancient world.

Now, for the first time, you can reach beyond the living—directly into the past. Thanks to breakthroughs in paleogenomics, scientists have recovered and sequenced the DNA of real individuals who lived thousands of years ago. From Ice Age hunters and Bronze Age warriors to Roman citizens and medieval villagers, their genetic echoes are finally within your reach.

The Ancient DNA Hub test is the first and only DNA test that connects you not to modern ethnic labels, but to actual ancient populations. Using our proprietary technologies, we match your genome against thousands of real ancient genomes excavated across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. This allows you to discover precisely which ancient peoples you descend from—and where and when they lived.

This test is for you if:
  • You’ve taken other ancestry tests and still feel something is missing
  • You want to go deeper, thousands of years deeper, into your lineage
  • Your family stories were lost through time, migration, or trauma—and you want to reclaim them
  • You suspect your ancestors may have been part of great migrations, battles, or empires—and you want proof
  • You want to give your children and grandchildren a deeper connection to who they are
We all have questions about who we are and where we come from. Until now, many of those questions were unanswerable. This test changes that.

Reclaim your ancient past. Your story didn’t start in the last 500 years—it began with the first footsteps of your ancestors across continents. Let their DNA speak again—and let it speak to you.

what do you get?

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Reconnect with your ancient ancestors and become a part of their story.

 

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dna matches

 

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Compare your results with other modern people

 

how is it done?

1

Download your DNA data

Simply download your DNA data from the company that genotyped your DNA and upload it here. We accept DNA from 23andme, AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, GenebyGene or FamilyTreeDNA (Family Finder), Genographic (Geno 2.0), HomeDNA, and LivingDNA.
Please upload a txt, csv, zip, gz or tgz file.
Need help?

2

Choose an Ancient DNA Hub Test

We continue to update our tests. If you did not find the culture that you were looking for, check out the upcoming tests. You will get a discount if you pre-order the test now.

3

Choose a payment method

You can pay per test or buy a subscription. With the Diamond subscription, you can order all the tests for less than $15 per test.

pay per test

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Basic Test
Low resolution test
  • Personalized ancient ancestry report
  • 2-5 Ancient individuals per test
  • Extensive records of the ancient culture
  • 10+ Modern populations
  • Latest scientific knowledge
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Advanced Test
High resolution test
  • Personalized ancient ancestry report
  • 15-30 Ancient individuals per test
  • 12 Geographic regions
  • Extensive records of the ancient culture
  • 50+ Modern populations
  • In-depth ancestry analyses
  • Latest scientific knowledge
  • Interactive interface to discover your roots
  • 12 Tests with Amber subscription

Have more than one DNA file?

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Your privacy is our top priority. When you send your DNA kit to us or upload your DNA file, we employ industry-standard security measures in every stage of our process, work to protect your data, and give you control over it—with data encryption, secure databases, and easy-to-use controls. You decide what you want to share and when. You are the sole owner of your DNA data. You can delete your DNA and account at any time and no cost. Your data will never be sold, licensed, or shared with any third parties without your explicit consent. Please read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

With over 200 ancestry tests that focus on your ancient origins Ancient DNA Hub is the largest ancestry website in the world. Rather than comparing your DNA to modern individuals as most website do, we match you with your true historical ancestors and provide detailed historical and archeological data spanning 20,000 years. Our tests are designed based on the ancient DNA of over 15,000 ancient people and 20,000 modern people from over 1,000 populations.

Ancient DNA Hub offers proprietary DNA tests developed by world-renowned geneticists, making them the most reliable and accurate in detecting your true ancient origins.