As a newcomer to the eDNA field with a background in aDNA research, I see many similarities among the two disciplines. Both are deriving information from degraded biomolecules and are thus facing all the same challenges related to substrate selection, sampling, extraction, library prep, sequencing, and analyses. There are also differences; notably the aDNA field has a 40-year history, whereas eDNA research has only really taken off in the past decade. With that in mind it is highly relevant for the eDNA community to reflect on the lessons learned in the aDNA field. Both those related to technical improvements but also more strategical and ethical ones. It has been 40 years characterized by some tremendous victories, such as the Neanderthal genome and a recent Nobel Price, but also some tremendous failures that we do not want to repeat. We need to learn from both. In this presentation I will therefore look back at the past through an aDNA lense in attempt to look forward through an eDNA ditto.