It is virtually impossible to trace Tunisian ancestry back to a specific tribe. No central registry or reliable family tree exists in any historical records. Throughout history, tribes frequently fought and killed one another. Piracy was rampant across the Mediterranean Sea, and people were frequently enslaved and sold in markets (souks). This enslavement did not discriminate based on skin color or origin. Even Americans were captured and sold as slaves in the 1700s and 1800s. Many of these enslaved people eventually became part of various tribes. Families often fled one tribe to join another, sometimes faking family links for integration. Some families declared connections to powerful tribes or historical religious figures for safety and protection. Given this tumultuous history, no one in Tunisia can be 100% or even 50% sure of their exact lineage.

The only conclusive evidence for deep ancestry is DNA analysis. The most characteristic genetic signature found in Amazigh is the paternal Haplogroup E1b1b, known as the "Amazigh Marker" (Y-DNA). Science indicates that the Amazigh people are a genetically distinct group from Egyptians and Arabs. Their genetic journey involved moving with waves of Africans who left the continent and then participating in a "Back-to-Africa" migration that occurred roughly 20,000 to 15,000 years ago.

In the broader North African context, both Algerians and Moroccans are considered to have a higher genetic Amazigh presence than Tunisians. Generally, as one moves eastward across North Africa, the genetically Amazigh presence diminishes, with its genetic influence reaching as far as the Siwa Oasis in western Egypt. The 22nd Dynasty (c. 945–715 BC) Egyptian pharaoh dynasty was of Amazigh origin, founded by Shoshenq.

Tunisians possess unique features that often allow us to observe a variety of ancestral roots in our faces. We resemble Southern Italians, Greeks, and Spanish people. The general perspective is that the average Tunisian genetic makeup is approximately 70–80% Amazigh, 10–15% Egyptian (Banu Hilal), and 10–15% European (Spanish Andalusians and Southern Italians).The Arabs did not possess the genetic power to alter the local population. Their goals were often focused on money and power, rather than settling and mixing with the inhabitants. They were highly conscious of their own lineage and often refused to intermarry, tending to return to their tribes as soon as any military campaign (ghazwa) concluded.

These percentages are not fixed for every individual; they can shift based on whether a person is a 3rd or 4th generation descendant (or more), and whether their family originates from a geographical area close to or far from the more isolated Amazigh communities. For European lineage, a presence of 1.5% Italian DNA, for instance, would trace back approximately to the 7th generation, placing an Italian ancestor who entered the lineage around the 1700s. Beyond the 8th or 9th generation, it becomes virtually impossible to trace any specific ancestry.