Ancient human DNA: A history of hype (then and now)

Abstract

In this article on the history of ancient DNA research, we argue that the innovation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the early 2000s has ushered in a second hype cycle much like the first hype cycle the field experienced in the 1990s with the advent of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). While the first hype cycle centered around the search for the oldest DNA, the field’s current optimism today promotes the rhetoric of revolution surrounding the study of ancient human gnomes. This is evidenced from written sources and personal interviews with researchers who feel the vast amount of data, the conclusions being made from this data, and the ever-increasing celebrity status of the field are perhaps moving too fast for their own good. Here, we use the concept of contamination, in both a literal and figurative understanding of the term, to explore the field’s continuities and disparities. We also argue that a number of additional, figurative interpretations of “contamination” are useful for navigating the current debate between geneticists and archaeologists regarding the origin, evolution, and migration of ancient humans across space and time. Our historical outlook on aDNA’s disciplinary development, we suggest, is necessary to accurately appreciate the state of the field, how it came to be, and where it might go in the future.