Source: Quillette
by Patrick Whittle
“Hitler left blood. Richard III left bones. Lenin left an entire body, preserved like a specimen. For centuries, historians and biographers have understood the powerful by scrutinising their words and letters, dissecting their decisions, and weighing the testimony of those they governed. But the recent rise of ancient DNA research has opened unsettling possibilities for analysing the actions of our rulers both past and present on the basis of their biology. This new perspective complicates but does not replace traditional interpretation; it could challenge old assumptions or further reinforce them. More significantly, however, genetics offers a tantalising — and possibly distorting — shortcut to understanding the minds that have shaped, or are now shaping, our world.” (01/21/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/01/21/bodies-of-evidence-adna-genetics-history-hitler-richard-iii-stalin/