The result was not just a scientific paper but a proof of concept — evidence that high-quality ancient genomic research in Colombia is achievable and that the materials necessary for it are present in Colombian archaeological collections.

This matters for what comes next.

The success of the 2025 study will almost certainly motivate additional research on Colombian ancient DNA, by both the same team and by other research groups who now know that the preservation conditions in Colombian highland sites can support the extraction of genome-wide data from thousands-year-old remains.

The Altiplano’s extraordinarily long and well-documented archaeological sequence — stretching from the initial post-glacial occupation more than eleven thousand years ago through to the Spanish conquest — offers a uniquely complete record against which genetic data can be interpreted.

Each new set of ancient genomes from this region will add resolution to the picture that the 2025 study began to construct.