Establishing a Bioethos in Ancient DNA: Situating Knowledges in Praxis and Engagement

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Ancient DNA (aDNA) has evolved into a multidisciplinary endeavor, with geneticists, archaeologists, and social scientists contributing to the compendium of research on degraded biomolecules. Over the past decade, the interplay between these diverse disciplinary perspectives has subsequently placed aDNA in a liminal space, simultaneously enriching and complicating the field. This is best reflected in the diversity of approaches taken in aDNA research, which have resulted in numerous publications regrading best practices for the field. These broadly applicable guidelines have also led to tensions regarding the role of community collaboration, the integration of situated knowledges, and the prioritization of scientific objectivity.

In this paper, we argue that broad guidelines are incompatible with aDNA research given the many contexts through which the field intersects. Instead, we propose cultivating a Bioethos for aDNA research that affirms the complex, (often) tense, and specific nature that many individual projects embody. Establishing a framework for research through Bioethos emphasizes the necessity of relational, context-sensitive approaches attuned to the social, cultural, historical, and ecological factors inherent in the research endeavor. This Bioethos harmonizes technological advancements with the values and agency of Descendant Communities and other invested groups, where cutting-edge science coexists with a commitment to collaborative decision-making.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 53132