Historical Evidence and ArgumentHistorians know about the past because they examine the evidence. But what exactly is “evidence,” how do historians know what it means—and how can we trust them to get it right? Historian David Henige tackles such questions of historical reliability head-on in his skeptical, unsparing, and acerbically witty Historical Evidence and Argument. “Systematic doubt” is his watchword, and he practices what he preaches through a variety of insightful assessments of historical controversies—for example, over the dating of artifacts and the textual analysis of translated documents. Skepticism, Henige contends, forces us to recognize the limits of our knowledge, but is also a positive force that stimulates new scholarship to counter it. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 5 | |
| 15 | |
Unraveling Gordian Knots | 29 |
When Too Much Is Not Enough | 42 |
The Many Births of Frank Lloyd Wright | 58 |
Destroying in Order to Save | 65 |
Speaking of History | 77 |
Rule Life vs Real Life | 148 |
When Might Makes Wrong | 161 |
Six Hundred Barrels of Plaster of Paris | 173 |
Millions of Moving Parts | 186 |
He Says She Says | 200 |
Bringing Texts Up to Code | 211 |
Gaining and Providing Access | 223 |
Hearing a White Horse Coming | 236 |
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accept Albright American appeared Archaeology archeological archeologists archives argue argument argument from silence Assyrian astronomical Bamboo Annals Bayeux Tapestry believe biblical Canek Manuscript century chronology claim Copper Scroll critical debate dence discussion document Dogon doubt dynasty earlier early Ebla eclipse edition editors effect evidence example excavations eyewitness fact footnotes forgery Hammurabi Henige historians historiography Iceland Inca Indians inscriptions interpretation Israel issue Ithobaal Josephus Josephus’s Journal kinglists Landnámabók later least less literary maps Masada matter modern myth notion oral tradition Pankenier past plausible possible published question readers reason recent refer reign rely Review rulers scholarly scholars Shang Sicarii silence skepticism t]he Testimonium Flavianum testimony textual textual criticism tion translation travel accounts treat truth Tyrian Vinland Map Walam Olum William word writing written Xia dynasty