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I think your sentiment is both right and wrong. There is scientific benefit to tracing the origins because it can help solve mysteries such as identifying which

I think your sentiment is both right and wrong. There is scientific benefit to tracing the origins because it can help solve mysteries such as identifying which language family their tongue fell under. Also evidence of this type of cultural migration helps explain similarities in the material culture of the Greeks and Philistines. But yes, many countries hype up the historical peoples that lived within their modern-day borders or who spoke a similar language. Now, it definitely seems like countries in the Balkans, Near East, and Caucus region are keen to jump on any genetic or archaeological result that supports their nation building project.

Archelaos 4y ago
It was not at all my intention to critizise research about population movements in the past. To the contrary, I find it extreemly fantastic what modern science can find out here. What annoyed me in this particular case was the fact that a particular statement was given a headline that I could not help but call an aberration. It is an example of a not so uncommon narrative in popularized history that is not only naïve, but can become dangerous if it becomes dominant, such as in present-day Russia. Perhaps people may find my complaint about this headline a bit nitpicking. But as a sort of historian by profession, such observations force themselves upon me, and I hope that HN is a place where at least a couple of people feel some affinity with a nerdy scholar.
- dc-programmer 4y ago
  I’ll admit I was socially primed to make a lukewarm commit due to the greying of your comment. After reading your response, I fully agree with what you are saying. There was a recent post sharing an article trying to add nuance to popular understandings of the Viking age. The response was pretty negative. It’s sad so many people only see history as a cultural centripetal force to reinforce in-group ties.

Archelaos 4y ago

It was not at all my intention to critizise research about population movements in the past. To the contrary, I find it extreemly fantastic what modern science can find out here. What annoyed me in this particular case was the fact that a particular statement was given a headline that I could not help but call an aberration. It is an example of a not so uncommon narrative in popularized history that is not only naïve, but can become dangerous if it becomes dominant, such as in present-day Russia. Perhaps people may find my complaint about this headline a bit nitpicking. But as a sort of historian by profession, such observations force themselves upon me, and I hope that HN is a place where at least a couple of people feel some affinity with a nerdy scholar.

dc-programmer 4y ago
I’ll admit I was socially primed to make a lukewarm commit due to the greying of your comment. After reading your response, I fully agree with what you are saying. There was a recent post sharing an article trying to add nuance to popular understandings of the Viking age. The response was pretty negative. It’s sad so many people only see history as a cultural centripetal force to reinforce in-group ties.