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History in the News

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Comments

  • #92
    Jellybaby_1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 946 ✭✭✭Jellybaby_1


    New finds and the rewriting of history seems to happen quite regularly. So it begs the question, do historians and archaeologists really know anything for sure? They would say they make an educated guess, but they do get it wrong at times and students take exams and pass with the knowledge that has been handed to them. I have at times questioned speakers/historians, and it wasn't liked. 😕



  • #93
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 26,542 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Historians don't know anything for sure any more than scientists do. The most they can ever know is that they have an explanation for the known facts, but that explanation is always provisional; it may have to be reviewed if new facts emerge, or if things that are currently understood to be factual turn out to be mistaken.

    (Or somebody may come up with a different explanation for the known facts, that other historians/scientists find more appealing.)



  • #94
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,728 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    One the one hand, new technologies allow for new interpretations. For instance, GIS (Geographical information systems) data from ground radar and sateillites has lead to a vast amount of new information for historians. On the other hand, academic trends (race to publish new papers for tenure) and a wish to upturn tradtional views on various topics often see historians take data and provide a newer, "modern", interpretation of it for publication purposes.



  • #95
    Manach
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,728 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manach


    Bronze age tomb discovered in the Uk.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg5pdv6v12o



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