The goal was to recover mitochondrial DNA — the genetic material housed in the cell’s energy-producing mitochondria rather than in the cell nucleus.

Mitochondrial DNA is present in far greater quantities per cell than nuclear DNA, making it considerably more likely to survive in ancient remains in recoverable amounts.

It is also inherited exclusively through the maternal line, which makes it useful for tracing ancestry through maternal lineages.

The analysis succeeded in recovering mitochondrial DNA sequence from the Hourglass Cave remains.

The result confirmed the skeletal determination of biological sex: the molecular data were consistent with a biological male.

And the mitochondrial DNA sequence placed the individual in a specific maternal lineage — one that would prove to be among the most important genetic findings in the early history of ancient American DNA research.