[daxterspeed]

It's incredibly unlikely that there's anything left that would let us deduce this man's lineage. Given what we know it's dramatically more likely that the aboriginals are related to him than any other group of people.

What I assume you're asking is if the aboriginals really have any right to claim the Mungo Man's remains. Regardless of family relations they disagree that these remains are "property of the scientific community". A lot of grave robbing has happened in the past in the name of archaeology and while these remains were on display at a museum that's not necessarily the most respectful way to treat these remains.

[danieltillett]

Everyone who lived 40,000 years ago is either the ancestor of everyone alive today or the ancestor of no one.

[angry_octet]

This is an appealingly simple soundbite but it doesn't account for geography.

A better question might be, 'why does ancestry even matter?'