Historical Conspiracy Theories and Weird and Wacky Ideas

Post on Historical Conspiracy Theories and Weird and Wacky Ideas on the History Police.

    I have long been interested in what I call  ‘ the other side’ of history aka ‘the stories that they don’t tell us’, simply because I, like a Missouran, prefer ‘ don’t tell me, show me. Partly this was due to the first ever BBC ‘Timewatch’. To see two academic historians coming to virtual blows over some detail of a historical subject fascinated me. I don’t remember what they were arguing about but it certainly alerted  me to the fact that history can be both divisive and important. Having now acquired a library of old history books I have read enough ‘ canonical’ texts to realise that only parts supporting  the author’s thesis have been allowed to intrude. I have also read enough to find that I am unlikely ever to find resolution and ‘seeking the truth ’ is an impossible task.
    The problem with anyone dipping their toes in the whole ocean of historical research is that one can never read all the books, footnotes, translations, abstracts and narratives and still lead anything like a normal existence. I cannot understand medieval French even if I could distinguish it from the various dialects and secretarial hands and shorthands, let alone Latin, Hebrew, Gothic German or even Middle English. To have access to all the relevant documents I would have to be in several places at once and have a God like omniescence, certainly to get through the barriers that are imposed upon a mere ‘ fellow traveller’ in the lands of research, let alone including  those documents denied to all under the ‘Rumsfeld definition’ of the unknown.
    The problem is exacerbated by the need for a definite ideological bias that seems to haunt academic historiography. I remember a search for ‘Marxist’ truth within my own discipline was required; never could stand being told where to stand. Similarly, any gender constraints, any religious dogma, political ‘reality’ or ‘absolute authority’ gets my back up before it starts. Having been educated in several fields and as an auto didact, I feel that there should be no barriers to what can be considered, investigated or thought as long as Occam’s razor is at least acknowledged as is Sherlock Holmes’ redaction of it.
    Academia is also haunted by the hunt for funds and it is seriously constricting all areas of endeavour. One dare not mention Psi or homeopathy in scientific circles for fear of losing your grants, or Dan Brown amongst several others. It has always been thus. He/she who has the gold makes the rules. They also write the legends and, more subtly, allow a certain amount of oral history to do their work for them. Propaganda has many faces and a lot longer pedigree than any Aryan interpretation. So when ‘ the History Police’ debate ‘ Conspiracy theories and Weird and Wacky Ideas’ they may be treading along too strict a path of orthodoxy. However unlikely they may seem, conspiracies do exist to hide truth, weird and wacky ideas may lead to avenues of research that may prove fruitful and dogmatism exists to put a stop to all questioning, which I am sure that the ‘History Police’ do not intend as their objective.
    Just to get your nightsticks swinging; How about dolmens  being designed by hunter gatherers as cool stores for large harvests of fish, game or cereals; only later being  utilised as tombs? Evidence? Archaeology shows wooden and turved structures surrounding the dolmens, similar to barrows and long graves  but also fish drying structures in Scandanavia; Pottery shards show both animal, fish and cereals and some form of accounting on the side; Shards also show two large circular markings on one side [ see markings for survival amongst animals ] Location near to sea and rivers known to have large harvest of sardines , eels and salmon etc; location on hills  away from predators and easily defended. But I know I'm crazy.

As a sidebar. I too am frustrated by the lack of footnotes but must point out that my word processor [ipages for Mac] does not allow me to do either footnotes or accept British English spelling.