Washing, brushing and varnishing fossils—all standard conservation treatments used by many fossil hunters and museum curators alike—vastly reduces the chances of recovering ancient DNA.

化石清洗、刷洗和涂清漆——所有这些许多化石猎人和博物馆馆长都采用的标准保护措施——极大地降低了恢复古代 DNA 的机会。