Notable Matches · Iconic discoveries
The First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal
The First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal (c. 8300-7500 BCE · 'Ain Ghazal, Amman, Jordan): what the published ancient DNA shows, 5 sequenced genomes, and how close your own Global25 coordinates come. Free with every Ancestry Map.
The dossier

- Catalog tier
- Iconic discoveries
- Period
- c. 8300-7500 BCE
- Found
- 'Ain Ghazal, Amman, Jordan
- Sequenced genomes
- 5 (I1707.AG, I1415.AG, I1700.AG, I1414.AG, I1710_enhanced)
Who they were
'Ain Ghazal, on the Zarqa River at the northeastern edge of Amman, was at twelve to fifteen hectares among the largest Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlements in the Near East, occupied for nearly three thousand years from about 7800 BCE. Two caches of lime-plaster-and-reed statues and busts, found in 1983 and 1985, are among the oldest large human figures ever made. Genomes from its graves showed that farming's founders were separate peoples: these southern Levantine farmers are deeply diverged from the contemporaneous farmers of Iran and Anatolia, distinct populations rather than one spreading people. All five are men, carrying the paternal lineages E1b1b, H and T1a, villagers of one of the first farming towns.
The genome-wide data behind this entry was published in Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East.
How your distance is measured
Every Ancestry Map includes the free Notable Matches lens: your coordinates are compared to every sequenced member of every catalog entry, and the distance to the closest member is reported, a Euclidean distance in the same 25-dimensional space the Distance lens uses. Because these are a small group of real individuals, not a population average, distances naturally run larger than population distances. That is expected, not a poor result. And one thing is never claimed: a small distance means similar ancestry composition, not that the First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal are your ancestor. See how it looks in the live demo or read about Ancestry Map, the full Global25 report.
Questions
Who were the First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal?
The First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal (c. 8300-7500 BCE, 'Ain Ghazal, Amman, Jordan) are one of the Iconic discoveries entries in our Notable Matches catalog, represented by 5 sequenced ancient genomes published in the study "Genomic insights into the origin of farming in the ancient Near East".
What does "matching" the First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal mean?
Your Global25 coordinates are compared to the entry's sequenced members and the distance to the closest one is reported, a Euclidean distance in the same 25-dimensional reference space the Distance lens uses. A notable entry is one person or one small burial group, not a population average, so distances naturally run larger than population distances.
Are they my ancestor?
No, and no DNA test can show that. A small distance means your genome sits near theirs in a shared reference space: similar ancestry composition, not descent. Ancestrify never claims a notable individual is your ancestor or relative.
How do I see my own distance to the First Farmers of 'Ain Ghazal?
Notable Matches is a free lens on every Ancestry Map, never sold separately. Order Ancestry Map, our Global25 analysis (29.99 EUR), and your report ranks your coordinates against the full catalog, with a portrait, dossier and map for every entry. The public demo shows the lens with example data.
More from the catalog
The catalog holds every published entry across three tiers. Browse the full Notable Matches directory. Nearby entries:
The Doggerland Foragersc. 8400-7200 BCE
The First Goat Herders of Ganj Darehc. 8250-7800 BCE
Cheddar Manc. 8300 BCE
The First People of Lagoa Santac. 8400 BCE
The Spirit Cave Mummyc. 8600 BCE
The Fisher-Foragers of Lepenski Virc. 9500-5500 BCE
The Farmers of Çatalhöyükc. 7100-5900 BCE
The First Farmers of Nea Nikomedeiac. 6300-6000 BCE
The First Farmers of Barcınc. 6500-5900 BCE
Loschbour Manc. 6100 BCE
The Shum Laka Childrenc. 6000 BCE and 1000 BCE
The Hòabìnhian of Pha Faenc. 6000 BCE