  The amount of sequence data obtained from ancient samples has dramatically
expanded in the last decade, and so have the types of questions that can now be
addressed using ancient DNA. In the field of human history, while ancient DNA
has provided answers to long-standing debates about major movements of people,
it has also recently begun to inform on other important facets of the human
experience. The field is now moving from not only focusing on large-scale
supra-regional studies to also taking a more local perspective, shedding light
on socioeconomic processes, inheritance rules, marriage practices and
technological diffusion. In this review, we summarize recent studies showcasing
these types of insights, focusing on the methods used to infer sociocultural
aspects of human behaviour. This work often involves working across disciplines
that have, until recently, evolved in separation. We argue that
multidisciplinary dialogue is crucial for a more integrated and richer
reconstruction of human history, as it can yield extraordinary insights about
past societies, reproductive behaviours and even lifestyle habits that would
not have been possible to obtain otherwise.
