Genes and Nations Europe old and new: romantic ideas of national
identity in the age of DNA A shorter version of this article
first appeared in the Independent on Sunday 'Talk of the Town'
London section, 16 March 2003. 'Are Today's Macedonians
Successors of Alexander the Great? asks the MakNews website.
'Will Genetics Finally Resolve The Greek-Macedonian Dispute?'
wonders the Macedonian Herald. Each, in its particular way, is
asking the fundamental question of ethnic identity: 'Where do we
come from?' And each anticipates that DNA may be the key that
will finally unlock ancient truths. As the basis of the latest
branch of the heritage industry, DNA is becoming a tool for
building nations. Casual inspection was once considered
sufficient to sort 'us' from 'them', whereas DNA analysis goes
beyond surface appearances to scrutinise invisible differences.
The keen attention paid by Macedonian websites to papers
published in the journal Tissue Antigens is historically apt,
because Macedonia is where scientific inv