Historic precedents are inherently spurious. They are set at points in time, the selection of which both define and limit their validity. If one goes far enough back in time then all precedent is lost. All the empires of recorded history are but dust because they have not yet existed. All claims to particular states of affairs erroneous.

This social construction of rights is particularly relevant in the current era of cultural claims over land and peoples - Putin’s perverted claims to cultural provenance in the context of Ukraine being a most deadly example.

One might try to argue for a fundamental delineation of belonging at the genetic level. But this too, we now know, is not discrete but mixed in its make up and ultimately singular in its origins. If the likes of Putin are serious about the purity of human provenance then they should accept that their ‘peoples’ - like all of us - are ‘out of Africa’ - not some erstwhile empire.