A bleak future for ethics. Paleogenomics and the fate of human remains in the age of biocapital

DNA samples taken from prehistoric bones from Europe are now used to explain some of the complex social and cultural processes of the past. But data intensive research is changing how archaeologists think about identity, ancestry and social relations. In the age of big data, genomic information becomes detached from notions such as accountability or agency, indirectly placing biologic samples outside of the classic parameters of ethical discussions. The main events redefining such discussion are: (1) the rise of the information regime in capitalist societies (2) a redefinition of how we understand ancestry, roots, and identity in relation to old remains (3) biocapital- aDNA becomes a valued commodity, at the crossroads of technical expertise and biomedical research. Due to the economic value of aDNA data, the new biocapital, ethical concerns raised by academics will be subsumed to the market logic.