Genetics, archaeology and the far right: an unholy Trinity

2019/07/08 by Susanne Hakenbeck, Susanne E. Hakenbeck · 114 citations
Arts and Humanities · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · #Anthropology #Epistemology #Essentialism #Ethnic group #Far right #Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies #Forensic and Genetic Research #Genealogy #History #Ideology #Law #Narrative #Optimism #Philosophy #Political science #Politics #Race, Genetics, and Society #Sociology

paper · open access · doi:10.1080/00438243.2019.1617189

published in World Archaeology 51(4), 517-527 (Routledge)

openalex publication_date 2019/07/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Recent advances in archeogenetics have revived an interest in grand narratives in which ethnic groups are once again thought to be agents of historical change. New scientific developments are generating a sense of optimism that difficult questions in palaeodemography may, at last, be solved. However, genetic research often uncritically makes use of essentialist models of past populations, reifying genetic populations as ethnic groups. This paper explores how such views of the past may play into notions of racial purity and fears of non-European migrants, stoked by adherents of far-right ideologies.

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