How did Bantu-speaking populations take shape in Zambia and Malawi? Ancient DNA points to at least two dispersals into the region—and an older local legacy that never completely disappeared.

This new preprint reports DNA from 71 ancient and historical people, with 62 retained for the main analyses. Their genomes reveal a history of migration, mixing and connections reaching across south central Africa.

One striking example comes from Kalala Island in Zambia’s Kafue River. A person dated to 1516–1667 CE is modeled as about 62% Bantu-related and 38% local hunter-gatherer-related. That is one individual, not an average for Zambia. The older component is represented by ancient foragers from Malawi.

The researchers also identify two broad genetic patterns among ancient and present-day Bantu-related groups. One has closer reference affinities to Luba-Lulua in southern DR Congo; the other to Ovimbundu in Angola and Wambo in Namibia. These matches help trace population connections, but they do not turn modern communities into literal ancient source populations.

Even one ethnic community can span both patterns: among 23 sampled Lozi, 13 fall in one cluster and 10 in the other. Those are counts of people, not ancestry percentages.

The southern Congo-linked pattern also shares stronger genetic connections with Bantu-speaking populations farther south, supporting a further expansion into southern Africa.

The result is a layered history: earlier foragers, incoming farmers, repeated movements and continued mixing. Two clusters do not mean only two migrations ever happened, and genetic groups are not ethnic or language boundaries.

This study has not yet been peer reviewed. Sparse ancient sampling leaves the exact routes and timing open.

📚 Source: Choin et al. (2026), bioRxiv (preprint)
The south Congo Basin was critical to Bantu settlement of south central Africa

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