Cost-effectiveness and other considerations for different research techniques applied in ancient DNA analysis

Ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis has developed rapidly since it first emerged in the 1980s, becoming an almostindispensable tool in anthropological and archaeological sciences. Earlier aDNA study was based on the polymerase chainreaction (PCR) technique, with which, unfortunately, modern DNA contamination and other authenticity issues were oftenincurred. These technical hurdles were soon overcome by application of advancements in the forms of the next generationsequencing (NGS) technique and others. However, since NGS requires money, time, and, in the case of large projects,manpower as well, genetic analysis of some ancient samples considered to be insignificant is commonly delayed or, in theworst cases, neglected entirely. We acknowledge that as a diagnostic tool in aDNA analysis, PCR is less accurate than NGSand more easily affected by modern DNA contamination; but it also has advantages, such as simplicity, time-saving, andgreater ease of interpretation, among others. The role of PCR in aDNA analysis, then, should be reconsidered.