This was transformative for ancient DNA work because ancient DNA is never intact — it is always broken into short, degraded fragments.

Next-generation sequencing can work with what ancient burial conditions actually produce.

The control of contamination is the other central challenge of ancient DNA research.

Ancient samples contain the DNA of not only the ancient individual but also the bacteria that colonized the remains, and the modern humans who handled the material during excavation, transportation, and analysis.

Distinguishing authentic ancient sequence from modern contamination requires stringent laboratory protocols — dedicated cleanrooms, decontaminated equipment, careful monitoring for the chemical damage signatures that characterize genuine ancient DNA.

By the early 2010s, the field was producing results that would have seemed impossible a decade earlier.