The many high-resolution tools that are uniquely applicable to specimens from the Quaternary period (the past ~2.5 Ma) provide an opportunity to cross-validate data and test hypotheses based on the morphology and distribution of fossils. Among these tools is palaeogenomics – the genome-scale sequencing of genetic material from ancient specimens – that can provide direct insight into ecology and evolution, potentially improving the accuracy of inferences about past ecological communities over longer timescales. Palaeogenomics has revealed instances of over- and underestimation of extinct diversity, detected cryptic faunal migration and turnover, allowed quantification of widespread sex biases and sexual dimorphism in the fossil record, revealed past hybridisation events and hybrid individuals, and has highlighted previously unrecognised routes of zoonotic disease transfer.

许多高分辨率工具独特地适用于第四纪（过去约 2.5 Ma）的标本，为交叉验证数据和检验基于化石形态和分布的假设提供了机会。这些工具中包括古基因组学——对来自古代标本的遗传物质进行基因组规模测序——它可以提供对生态学和进化的直接洞察，有可能在更长的时间尺度上提高对过去生态群落的推断的准确性。古基因组学揭示了高估和低估灭绝多样性的实例，检测到神秘的动物迁移和更替，允许量化化石记录中广泛的性别偏见和性别二态性，揭示过去的杂交事件和杂交个体，