ABSTRACT Genomics and ancient DNA methods have revolutionized many areas of biology, including human evolution. Recently we have seen significant advances in archaeogenetics including the use of large-scale genomic datasets to track human movements globally. In addition, advances in ancient and modern genomics have enabled researchers to resolve a range of issues of importance to indigenous people. Most notable among these is the repatriation of ancient remains to their kin i.e. to what Aboriginal Australians refer to as their ‘Place and Country’. From an historical perspective, new fields of science can be characterized as moving through three stages beginning with description, followed by a focus on mechanisms/functions and finally the formulation of experiments and hypothesis testing. The new science of archaeogenetics is currently in the descriptive stage. It involves large-scale genome sequencing and the use of explanatory narratives. Our analysis suggests that a mature formulation lies in the future.

中文翻译：

---

考古学与人类进化：生物学学科的本体论

摘要基因组学和古老的DNA方法彻底改变了生物学的许多领域，包括人类进化。最近，我们看到了考古学的重大进展，包括使用大规模基因组数据集来跟踪全球人类的活动。此外，古代和现代基因组学的进步使研究人员能够解决一系列对土著人民重要的问题。其中最值得注意的是将古代遗骸归还其亲属，即澳大利亚原住民所称的“地方和国家”。从历史的角度来看，科学的新领域可以描述为经历三个阶段，从描述开始，然后是机制/功能，最后是实验和假设检验的制定。新的考古学科学目前处于描述阶段。它涉及大规模的基因组测序和解释性叙述的使用。我们的分析表明，未来将有成熟的提法。