The genomes of Neanderthals, Denisovans, and early modern humans from across Eurasia were being read and analyzed.

The ancestral histories of modern populations were being revealed in molecular detail that no other source of evidence could provide.

Against this background, the sampling of MA-1 was a natural project.

The MA-1 remains — preserved in the cold conditions of Siberia and held in museum collections since the Soviet-era excavations — were potentially good candidates for ancient DNA recovery.

The analysis was led by Eske Willerslev of the Natural History Museum of Denmark, working with collaborators at multiple institutions.

Willerslev had already made foundational contributions to ancient DNA research, including work on ancient humans, Pleistocene animals, and the deep evolutionary history of organisms preserved in permafrost and ice.