Notable Matches · Iconic discoveries
The Illyrians of Dalmatia
The Illyrians of Dalmatia (c. 1200-300 BCE · Dalmatia, Croatia): what the published ancient DNA shows, 12 sequenced genomes, and how close your own Global25 coordinates come. Free with every Ancestry Map.
The dossier

- Catalog tier
- Iconic discoveries
- Period
- c. 1200-300 BCE
- Found
- Dalmatia, Croatia
- Sequenced genomes
- 12 (I23996, I5723, I24879, I23911, I3313, I23995, I5724, I26742, I24882, I24638, I23904, I24639)
Who they were
The Iron Age peoples of the Dalmatian hinterland, buried in hillforts and caves like Jazinka, were among the tribes Greek and Roman writers called Illyrians: herders, warriors and, on the coast, pirates bold enough to provoke Rome into war. Their genomes anchor the western Balkan ancestry that flows, thread by thread, into the peninsula's later peoples.
The genome-wide data behind this entry was published in Ancient DNA evidence for the history of the Albanians.
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 Illyrians of Dalmatia are your ancestor. See how it looks in the live demo or read about Ancestry Map, the full Global25 report.
Questions
Who were the Illyrians of Dalmatia?
The Illyrians of Dalmatia (c. 1200-300 BCE, Dalmatia, Croatia) are one of the Iconic discoveries entries in our Notable Matches catalog, represented by 12 sequenced ancient genomes published in the study "Ancient DNA evidence for the history of the Albanians".
What does "matching" the Illyrians of Dalmatia 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 Illyrians of Dalmatia?
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 Urartiansc. 850-600 BCE
The Illyrians of Montenegroc. 1600-300 BCE
The Paeoniansc. 1200-300 BCE
The Picenes of Novilarac. 725-625 BCE
The Mummies of Abusir el-Meleqc. 775-560 BCE
The Lapita Voyagers of Teoumac. 950 BCE
The Phoenicians of Achzivc. 900-400 BCE
The Koban Culturec. 800-400 BCE
The Phoenicians of Tharrosc. 700-470 BCE
The Phoenicians of Motyac. 670-450 BCE
The Urnfield People of Central Europec. 1300-800 BCE
The Salt Lords of Hallstattc. 750-400 BCE