The specific preservation chemistry of ochre-coated bone versus uncoated bone is not fully characterized, but the correlation between ochre use in prehistoric burials and the survival of bone organic material has been noted by multiple researchers.

The DNA that survived in the Anzick child’s bones was recovered through careful extraction procedures that take advantage of the fact that ancient DNA tends to survive in the most protected microenvironments within bone — in the crystalline matrix of the mineral, bound to the hydroxyapatite in ways that protect it from some of the chemical damage that destroys unbound DNA.

Modern ancient DNA extraction methods specifically target these protected fractions, maximizing the recovery of authentic ancient sequences while minimizing contamination with modern DNA.

The authentication of ancient DNA sequences — distinguishing genuine ancient sequences from contamination by modern human DNA — is one of the most technically demanding aspects of ancient genome work.