# Pseudohistory

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Pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort historical record

Not to be confused with [Counterfactual history](/source/Counterfactual_history) or [Alternate history](/source/Alternate_history).

*[Sonderaktion 1005](/source/Sonderaktion_1005)* was a [Nazi](/source/Nazi_Germany) project with the explicit goal of hiding or destroying any evidence of the [mass murder](/source/Mass_murder) committed under [Operation Reinhard](/source/Operation_Reinhard). This was one of the earliest attempts at [Holocaust denial](/source/Holocaust_denial), taking place while the [genocide of the Jews](/source/Final_Solution) was still ongoing. Scholars consider [denial](/source/Genocide_denial) to be an integral part of [genocide](/source/Genocide) itself.[1]

The [Lost Cause of the Confederacy](/source/Lost_Cause_of_the_Confederacy) is a [negationist](/source/Historical_negationism) ideology which falsely claims that the spread of [slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_United_States) was not the [central cause](/source/Origins_of_the_American_Civil_War) of the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War).

The [Iğdır Genocide Memorial and Museum](/source/I%C4%9Fd%C4%B1r_Genocide_Memorial_and_Museum) in [Turkey](/source/Turkey) promotes the false narrative that [Armenians committed genocide against Turks](/source/Armenian_genocide_denial), rather than vice versa.[2]

**Pseudohistory** is a form of [pseudoscholarship](/source/Pseudoscholarship) that attempts to distort or misrepresent the [historical record](/source/Recorded_history), often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly [historical research](/source/History). The related term **cryptohistory** is applied to pseudohistory derived from the [superstitions](/source/Superstition) intrinsic to [occultism](/source/Occult). Pseudohistory is related to [pseudoscience](/source/Pseudoscience) and [pseudoarchaeology](/source/Pseudoarchaeology), and usage of the terms may occasionally overlap.

Although pseudohistory comes in many forms, scholars have identified common features in pseudohistorical works. Pseudohistory is almost always motivated by a contemporary [political](/source/Political_agenda), religious, or personal agenda. It frequently presents sensational claims or a [big lie](/source/Big_lie) about historical facts which would require unwarranted [revision](/source/Historical_revisionism) of the historical record.[3] Another hallmark is an underlying premise that powerful groups have a [furtive agenda](/source/Furtive_fallacy) to suppress the promoter's thesis—a premise commonly corroborated by elaborate [conspiracy theories](/source/Conspiracy_theory). Works of pseudohistory often point exclusively to unreliable sources—including [myths](/source/Myth) and [legends](/source/Legend), often treated as literal historical truth—to support the thesis being promoted while ignoring valid sources that contradict it ([special pleading](/source/Special_pleading)). Some works adopt a position of historical [relativism](/source/Relativism), insisting that there is no such thing as historical truth and that any hypothesis is equal to any other. Many works conflate mere possibility with actuality, assuming that if something *could* have happened, then it did.

Notable examples of pseudohistory include [British Israelism](/source/British_Israelism), the [Lost Cause of the Confederacy](/source/Lost_Cause_of_the_Confederacy), the [Irish slaves myth](/source/Irish_slaves_myth), the [witch-cult](/source/Witch-cult_hypothesis), [Armenian genocide denial](/source/Armenian_genocide_denial), [Holocaust denial](/source/Holocaust_denial), the [clean Wehrmacht myth](/source/Myth_of_the_clean_Wehrmacht), and the claim that the [Katyn massacre](/source/Katyn_massacre) was not committed by the Soviet [NKVD](/source/NKVD).

## Definition and etymology

The term *pseudohistory* was coined in the early nineteenth century, which makes the word older than the related terms *[pseudo-scholarship](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pseudo-scholarship)* and *[pseudoscience](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pseudo-science)*.[4] In an attestation from 1815, it is used to refer to the *[Contest of Homer and Hesiod](/source/Contest_of_Homer_and_Hesiod)*, a purportedly historical narrative describing an entirely fictional contest between the Greek poets [Homer](/source/Homer) and [Hesiod](/source/Hesiod).[5] The pejorative sense of the term, labelling a flawed or disingenuous work of historiography, is found in another 1815 attestation.[6] Pseudohistory is akin to pseudoscience in that both forms of falsification are achieved using the methodology that purports to, but does not, adhere to the established standards of research for the given field of intellectual enquiry of which the pseudoscience claims to be a part, and which offers little or no supporting evidence for its plausibility.[7]: 7–18

Writers [Michael Shermer](/source/Michael_Shermer) and [Alex Grobman](/source/Alex_Grobman) define pseudohistory as "the rewriting of the past for present personal or political purposes".[8]: 2 Other writers take a broader definition; Douglas Allchin, a historian of science, contends that when the history of scientific discovery is presented in a simplified way, with drama exaggerated and scientists romanticized, this creates wrong stereotypes about how science works, and in fact constitutes pseudohistory, despite being based on real facts.[9]

## Characteristics

[Robert Todd Carroll](/source/Robert_Todd_Carroll) has developed a list of criteria to identify pseudo-historic works. He states that:

Pseudohistory is purported history which:

- Treats myths, legends, sagas and similar literature as literal truth

- Is neither critical nor skeptical in its reading of ancient historians, taking their claims at face value and ignoring empirical or logical evidence contrary to the claims of the ancients

- Is on a mission, not a quest, seeking to support some contemporary political or religious agenda rather than find out the truth about the past

- Often denies that there is such a thing as historical truth, clinging to the extreme skeptical notion that only what is absolutely certain can be called 'true' and nothing is absolutely certain, so nothing is true

- Often maintains that history is nothing but mythmaking and that different histories are not to be compared on such traditional academic standards as accuracy, empirical probability, logical consistency, relevancy, completeness, fairness or honesty, but on moral or political grounds

- Is selective in its use of ancient documents, citing favorably those that fit with its agenda, and ignoring or interpreting away those documents which do not fit

- Considers the possibility of something being true as sufficient to believe it is true if it fits with one's agenda

- Often maintains that there is a conspiracy to suppress its claims because of racism, atheism or ethnocentrism, or because of opposition to its political or religious agenda[10]

[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke](/source/Nicholas_Goodrick-Clarke) prefers the term "cryptohistory". He identifies two necessary elements as "a complete ignorance of the primary sources" and the repetition of "inaccuracies and wild claims".[11][12]

Other common characteristics of pseudohistory are:

- The arbitrary linking of disparate events so as to form – in the theorist's opinion – a pattern. This is typically then developed into a [conspiracy theory](/source/Conspiracy_theory) postulating a hidden agent responsible for creating and maintaining the pattern. For example, the pseudohistorical *[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail](/source/The_Holy_Blood_and_the_Holy_Grail)* links the [Knights Templar](/source/Knights_Templar), the medieval [Grail Romances](/source/Holy_Grail), the [Merovingian](/source/Merovingian) Frankish dynasty and the artist [Nicolas Poussin](/source/Nicolas_Poussin) in an attempt to identify lineal descendants of Jesus.

- Hypothesising the consequences of unlikely events that "could" have happened, thereby assuming tacitly that they did.

- [Sensationalism](/source/Sensationalism), or [shock value](/source/Shock_value)

- [Cherry picking](/source/Cherry_picking), or "law office history", evidence that helps the historical argument being made and suppressing evidence that hurts it.[13]

## Categories and examples

Further information: [Historical negationism](/source/Historical_negationism) and [Pseudoarchaeology](/source/Pseudoarchaeology)

The following are some common categories of pseudohistorical theory, with examples. Not all theories in a listed category are necessarily pseudohistorical; they are rather categories that seem to attract pseudohistorians.

### Main categories

#### Alternative chronologies

An alternative [chronology](/source/Chronology) is a revised sequence of events that deviates from the standard timeline of world history accepted by mainstream scholars. An example of an "alternative chronology" is [Anatoly Fomenko](/source/Anatoly_Fomenko)'s [New Chronology](/source/New_Chronology_(Fomenko)), which claims that recorded history actually began around AD 800 and all events that allegedly occurred prior to that point either never really happened at all or are simply inaccurate retellings of events that happened later.[14] One of its outgrowths is the [Tartary](/source/Tartarian_Empire_(conspiracy_theory)) conspiracy theory. Other, less extreme examples, are the [phantom time hypothesis](/source/Phantom_time_hypothesis), which asserts that the years AD 614–911 never took place; and the [New Chronology](/source/New_Chronology_(Rohl)) of [David Rohl](/source/David_Rohl), which claims that the accepted timelines for ancient Egyptian and Israelite history are wrong.[15]

#### Historical falsification

[Geoffrey of Monmouth](/source/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth)'s *[History of the Kings of Britain](/source/Historia_Regum_Britanniae)*, a scene from which is shown in this fifteenth-century illumination, was a popular work of pseudohistory during the [Middle Ages](/source/Middle_Ages).

In the eighth century, a forged document known as [Donation of Constantine](/source/Donation_of_Constantine), which supposedly transferred authority over Rome and the western part of the Roman Empire to the [Pope](/source/Pope), became widely circulated.[16] In the twelfth century, [Geoffrey of Monmouth](/source/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth) published the *[History of the Kings of Britain](/source/Historia_Regum_Britanniae)*, a pseudohistorical work purporting to describe the ancient history and origins of the British people. The book synthesises earlier Celtic mythical traditions to inflate the deeds of the mythical [King Arthur](/source/King_Arthur). The contemporary historian [William of Newburgh](/source/William_of_Newburgh) wrote around 1190 that "it is quite clear that everything this man wrote about Arthur and his successors, or indeed about his predecessors from [Vortigern](/source/Vortigern) onwards, was made up, partly by himself and partly by others".[17]

#### Historical revisionism

The [Shakespeare authorship question](/source/Shakespeare_authorship_question) is a [fringe theory](/source/Fringe_theory) that claims that the works attributed to [William Shakespeare](/source/William_Shakespeare) were actually written by someone other than William Shakespeare of [Stratford-upon-Avon](/source/Stratford-upon-Avon).[18][19][20][21]

Another example of historical revisionism is the thesis, found in the writings of [David Barton](/source/David_Barton_(author)) and others, asserting that the United States was founded as an exclusively [Christian](/source/Christianity) nation.[22][23][24] Mainstream historians instead support the traditional position, which holds that the American founding fathers [intended for church and state to be kept separate](/source/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States).[25][26]

Confederate revisionists (a.k.a. Civil War revisionists), "[Lost Cause](/source/Lost_Cause_of_the_Confederacy)" advocates, and [Neo-Confederates](/source/Neo-Confederate) argue that the [Confederate States of America](/source/Confederate_States_of_America)'s prime motivation was the maintenance of [states' rights](/source/States'_rights) and limited government, rather than the preservation and expansion of [slavery](/source/Slavery_in_the_United_States).[27][28][29]

Connected to the Lost Cause is the [Irish slaves myth](/source/Irish_slaves_myth), a pseudo-historical narrative which conflates the experiences of [Irish indentured servants](/source/Irish_indentured_servants) and [enslaved Africans](/source/Atlantic_slave_trade) in the [Americas](/source/Americas). This myth, which was historically promoted by [Irish nationalists](/source/Irish_nationalism) such as [John Mitchel](/source/John_Mitchel), has in the modern-day been promoted by [white supremacists](/source/White_supremacy) in the United States to minimize the mistreatment experienced by [African Americans](/source/African_Americans) (such as [racism](/source/Racism_in_the_United_States) and [segregation](/source/Racial_segregation_in_the_United_States)) and oppose demands for [slavery reparations](/source/Reparations_for_slavery_in_the_United_States). The myth has also been used to obscure and downplay Irish involvement in the [transatlantic slave trade](/source/Atlantic_slave_trade).[30][31]

#### Historical negationism

While closely related to previous categories, [historical negationism](/source/Historical_negationism), or denialism, specifically aims to outright deny the existence of confirmed events, often including various massacres, genocides, and [national histories](/source/Nationalism).

Some examples include [Holocaust denial](/source/Holocaust_denial), [Armenian genocide denial](/source/Armenian_genocide_denial),[32] as well as [Nanjing Massacre denial](/source/Nanjing_Massacre_denial) and [Nakba denial](/source/Nakba_denial) in the 1984 work *[From Time Immemorial](/source/From_Time_Immemorial)* by [Joan Peters](/source/Joan_Peters).[33]

#### Psychohistory

Main article: [Psychohistory](/source/Psychohistory)

Some mainstream historians have categorized psychohistory as pseudohistory.[34][35] Psychohistory is an amalgam of psychology, history, and related social sciences and the humanities.[36] Its stated goal is to examine the "why" of history, especially the difference between stated intention and actual behavior. It also states as its goal the combination of the insights of psychology, especially [psychoanalysis](/source/Psychoanalysis), with the research methodology of the [social sciences](/source/Social_sciences) and humanities to understand the emotional origin of the behavior of individuals, groups and nations, past and present.

#### Pseudoarchaeology

[Pseudoarchaeology](/source/Pseudoarchaeology) refers to a false interpretation of records, namely physical ones, often by unqualified or otherwise amateur archeologists. These interpretations are often baseless and seldom align with established consensus. Nazi archaeology is a prominent example of this technique.[37] Frequently, people who engage in pseudoarchaeology have a very strict interpretation of evidence and are unwilling to alter their stance, resulting in interpretations that often appear overly simplistic and fail to capture the complexity and nuance of the complete narrative.[38]

### Various examples of pseudohistory

(These following examples can belong to a variety of the above mentioned categories, or ones not mentioned as well).

#### Ancient aliens, ancient technologies, and lost lands

Main article: [Ancient astronauts](/source/Ancient_astronauts)

[Immanuel Velikovsky](/source/Immanuel_Velikovsky)'s books *[Worlds in Collision](/source/Worlds_in_Collision)* (1950), *[Ages in Chaos](/source/Ages_in_Chaos)* (1952), and *Earth in Upheaval* (1955), which became "instant bestsellers",[7] demonstrated that pseudohistory based on ancient mythology held potential for tremendous financial success[7] and became models of success for future works in the genre.[7]

In 1968, [Erich von Däniken](/source/Erich_von_D%C3%A4niken) published *[Chariots of the Gods?](/source/Chariots_of_the_Gods%3F)*, which claims that ancient visitors from outer space constructed the pyramids and other monuments. He has since published other books in which he makes similar claims. These claims have all been categorized as pseudohistory.[7]: 201 Similarly, [Zechariah Sitchin](/source/Zechariah_Sitchin) has published numerous books claiming that a race of extraterrestrial beings from the [Planet Nibiru](/source/Nibiru_cataclysm#Nancy_Lieder_and_ZetaTalk) known as the [Anunnaki](/source/Anunnaki) visited Earth in ancient times in search of gold, and that they genetically engineered humans to serve as their slaves. He claims that memories of these occurrences are recorded in [Sumerian mythology](/source/Sumerian_religion), as well as other mythologies all across the globe. These speculations have likewise been categorized as pseudohistory.[39][40]

The ancient astronaut hypothesis was further popularized in the United States by the [History Channel](/source/History_(U.S._TV_network)) television series *[Ancient Aliens](/source/Ancient_Aliens_(TV_series))*.[41] History professor [Ronald H. Fritze](/source/Ronald_H._Fritze) observed that the pseudohistorical claims promoted by von Däniken and the *Ancient Aliens* program have a periodic popularity in the US:[7][42] "In a pop culture with a short memory and a voracious appetite, aliens and pyramids and lost civilizations are recycled like fashions."[7]: 201[42]

The author [Graham Hancock](/source/Graham_Hancock) has sold over four million copies of books promoting the pseudohistorical thesis that all the major monuments of the ancient world, including [Stonehenge](/source/Stonehenge), the [Egyptian pyramids](/source/Egyptian_pyramids), and the [moai](/source/Moai) of [Easter Island](/source/Easter_Island), were built by a single ancient supercivilization,[43] which Hancock claims thrived from 15,000 to 10,000 BC and possessed technological and scientific knowledge equal to or surpassing that of modern civilization.[7] He first advanced the full form of this argument in his 1995 bestseller *[Fingerprints of the Gods](/source/Fingerprints_of_the_Gods)*,[7] which won popular acclaim, but scholarly disdain.[7] [Christopher Knight](/source/Christopher_Knight_(author)) has published numerous books, including *[Uriel's Machine](/source/Uriel's_Machine)* (2000), expounding pseudohistorical assertions that ancient civilizations possessed technology far more advanced than the technology of today.[44][45][46][47]

The claim that a lost continent known as [Lemuria](/source/Lemuria_(continent)) once existed in the Pacific Ocean has likewise been categorized as pseudohistory.[7]: 11

Furthermore, similar conspiracy theories promote the idea of embellished, fabricated accounts of historical civilizations, namely [Khazaria](/source/Khazar_hypothesis_of_Ashkenazi_ancestry) and [Tartaria](/source/Tartarian_Empire).

#### Antisemitic pseudohistory

See also: [Blood libel](/source/Blood_libel)

American edition of *[The Protocols of the Elders of Zion](/source/The_Protocols_of_the_Elders_of_Zion)* from 1934

*[The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion](/source/The_Protocols_of_the_Learned_Elders_of_Zion)* is a fraudulent work purporting to show a historical conspiracy for world domination by Jews.[48] The work was conclusively proven to be a forgery in August 1921, when *[The Times](/source/The_Times)* revealed that extensive portions of the document were directly plagiarized from [Maurice Joly](/source/Maurice_Joly)'s 1864 satirical dialogue *[The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu](/source/The_Dialogue_in_Hell_Between_Machiavelli_and_Montesquieu)*,[49] as well as [Hermann Goedsche](/source/Hermann_Goedsche)'s 1868 anti-Semitic novel *Biarritz*.[50]

The [Khazar theory](/source/Khazar_hypothesis_of_Ashkenazi_ancestry) is an academic [fringe theory](/source/Fringe_theory) that postulates the belief that the bulk of [European Jewry](/source/History_of_the_Jews_in_Europe) is of [Central Asian](/source/Central_Asia) ([Turkic](/source/Turkic_peoples)) origin. In spite of the [mainstream academic consensus](/source/Genetic_studies_on_Jews) which conclusively rejects it, this theory has been promoted in [Anti-Semitic](/source/Antisemitism) and some [Anti-Zionist](/source/Anti-Zionism) circles, they argue that Jews are an alien element in both Europe and [Palestine](/source/History_of_the_Jews_and_Judaism_in_the_Land_of_Israel).

[Holocaust denial](/source/Holocaust_denial) in particular and [genocide denial](/source/Genocide_denial) in general are widely categorized as pseudohistory.[8]: 237[51] Major proponents of Holocaust denial include [David Irving](/source/David_Irving) and others, who argue that the [Holocaust](/source/The_Holocaust), the [Holodomor](/source/Holodomor), the [Armenian genocide](/source/Armenian_genocide), the [Assyrian genocide](/source/Sayfo), the [Greek genocide](/source/Greek_genocide) and [other genocides](/source/Genocides_in_history) did not occur, or accounts of them were greatly exaggerated.[51]

#### Ethnocentric or nationalist revisionism

See also: [Historiography and nationalism](/source/Historiography_and_nationalism) and [National mysticism](/source/National_mysticism)

Most [Afrocentric](/source/Afrocentrism) (i.e. [Pre-Columbian Africa-Americas contact theories](/source/Pre-Columbian_Africa-Americas_contact_theories), see [Ancient Egyptian race controversy](/source/Ancient_Egyptian_race_controversy)) ideas have been identified as pseudohistorical,[52][53] alongside the "[Indigenous Aryans](/source/Indigenous_Aryans#Pseudoscience_and_postmodernism)" theories published by [Hindu nationalists](/source/Hindu_nationalists) during the 1990s and 2000s.[54] The "crypto-history" developed within [Germanic mysticism](/source/Ariosophy) and [Nazi occultism](/source/Nazi_occultism) has likewise been placed under this categorization.[55][56]

The [Sun Language Theory](/source/Sun_Language_Theory) is a pseudohistorical ideology which argues that all languages are descended from a form of proto-Turkish.[57] The theory may have been partially devised in order to legitimize Arabic and Semitic loanwords occurring in the Turkish language by instead asserting that the Arabic and Semitic words were derived from the Turkish ones rather than vice versa.[58]

A large number of nationalist pseudohistorical theories deal with the legendary [Ten Lost Tribes](/source/Ten_Lost_Tribes) of ancient Israel. [British-Israelism](/source/British_Israelism#Claims_and_criticism), also known as Anglo-Israelism, the most famous example of this type, has been conclusively refuted by mainstream historians using evidence from a vast array of different fields of study.[59][60][61]

[Antiquization](/source/Antiquization) or Ancient Macedonism is a nationalistic pseudohistorical theory which postulates direct demographic, cultural and linguistic continuity between [ancient Macedonians](/source/Ancient_Macedonians) and the [main ethnic group](/source/Macedonians_(ethnic_group)) in present-day [North Macedonia](/source/North_Macedonia).[62][63] North Macedonian scholars say the theory is intended to forge a national identity distinct from modern [Bulgaria](/source/Bulgaria).[64] The [Bulgarian](/source/Bulgarians) medieval dynasty of [the Komitopules](/source/Cometopuli_dynasty) is presented as ruling a "medieval Macedonian state" because its capitals were located in what was previously the [ancient kingdom of Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(ancient_kingdom)),[65] and [North Macedonian historians](/source/Historiography_in_North_Macedonia) often replace the ethnonym "Bulgarians" with "Macedonians", or avoid it.[66][67] The theory is controversial in [Greece](/source/Greece) and sparked mass protests there in 2018.[68] A particular item of dispute is North Macedonian veneration of [Alexander the Great](/source/Alexander_the_Great); mainstream scholarship holds that Alexander had Greek ancestry, he was born in an area of ancient Macedonia that is now Greece, and he ruled over North Macedonia but never lived there.[64][69] To placate Greece and thereby facilitate Macedonian entry into the [European Union](/source/European_Union) and [NATO](/source/NATO), the Macedonian government formally renounced claims of ancient Macedonian heritage with the 2018 [Prespa Agreement](/source/Prespa_Agreement).[64][68]

[Dacianism](/source/Dacianism) is a Romanian pseudohistorical current that attempts to attribute far more influence over European and world history to the [Dacians](/source/Dacians) than that which they actually enjoyed.[70] Dacianist historiography claims that the Dacians held primacy over all other civilizations, including the [Romans](/source/Roman_people);[71] that the [Dacian language](/source/Dacian_language) was the origin of [Latin](/source/Latin) and all other languages, such as [Hindi](/source/Hindi) and [Babylonian](/source/Akkadian_language);[72] and sometimes that the [Zalmoxis](/source/Zalmoxis) cult has structural links to Christianity.[73] Dacianism was most prevalent in [National Communist](/source/National_Communism_in_Romania) [Romania](/source/Socialist_Republic_of_Romania), as the [Ceaușescu](/source/Nicolae_Ceau%C8%99escu) regime portrayed the Dacians as insurgents defying an "imperialist" Rome; the [Communist Party](/source/Romanian_Communist_Party) had formally attached "protochronism", as Dacianism was known, to [Marxist](/source/Marxism) ideology by 1974.[74]

#### Matriarchy

Main article: [Matriarchy](/source/Matriarchy)

The consensus among academics is that no unambiguously and strictly matriarchal society is known to have existed. Many societies are known, however, to have or have had some matriarchal features, in particular [matrilineality](/source/Matrilineality), [matrilocality](/source/Matrilocality), and/or [matrifocality](/source/Matrifocality).[75][76] Anthropologist [Donald Brown](/source/Donald_Brown_(anthropologist))'s list of [human cultural universals](/source/Cultural_universal) (*viz.*, features shared by nearly all current human societies) includes men being the "dominant element" in public political affairs,[77] which is the contemporary opinion of mainstream [anthropology](/source/Anthropology).[78] Some societies that are matrilineal or matrifocal may in fact have [patriarchal](/source/Patriarchal) power structures, and thus be misidentified as matriarchal. The idea that matriarchal societies existed and they preceded patriarchal societies was first raised in the 19th-century among Western academics, but it has since been discredited.[78]

Despite this however, some [second-wave feminists](/source/Second-wave_feminist) assert that a matriarchy preceded the patriarchy. The [Goddess Movement](/source/Goddess_Movement) and Riane Eisler's 1987 book *[The Chalice and the Blade](/source/The_Chalice_and_the_Blade)* cite [Venus figurines](/source/Venus_figurines) as evidence that societies of [Paleolithic](/source/Paleolithic) and [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) Europe were matriarchies that worshipped a goddess. This belief is not supported by mainstream academics.[79]

#### Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories

Main article: [Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact](/source/Pre-Columbian_trans-oceanic_contact)

Excluding the [Norse colonization of the Americas](/source/Norse_colonization_of_the_Americas), most theories of [pre-Columbian](/source/Pre-Columbian_era) trans-oceanic contact have been classified as pseudohistory, including claims that the Americas were actually discovered by Arabs or Muslims.[80] [Gavin Menzies](/source/Gavin_Menzies)' book *[1421: The Year China Discovered the World](/source/1421%3A_The_Year_China_Discovered_the_World)*, which argues for the idea that Chinese sailors discovered America, has also been categorized as a work of pseudohistory.[7]: 11

#### Racist pseudohistory

[Josiah Priest](/source/Josiah_Priest) and other nineteenth-century American writers wrote pseudohistorical narratives that portrayed [African Americans](/source/African_Americans) and [Native Americans](/source/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States) in an extremely negative light.[81] Priest's first book was *The Wonders of Nature and Providence, Displayed* (1826).[82][81] The book is regarded by modern critics as one of the earliest works of modern American pseudohistory.[81] Priest attacked Native Americans in *American Antiquities and Discoveries of the West* (1833)[83][81] and African-Americans in *Slavery, As It Relates to the Negro* (1843).[84][81] Other nineteenth-century writers, such as [Thomas Gold Appleton](/source/Thomas_Gold_Appleton), in his *A Sheaf of Papers* (1875), and [George Perkins Marsh](/source/George_Perkins_Marsh), in his *The Goths in New England*, seized upon false notions of [Viking](/source/Vikings) history to promote the superiority of [white people](/source/White_people) (as well as to oppose the [Catholic Church](/source/Catholic_Church)). Such misuse of Viking history and imagery reemerged in the twentieth century among some groups promoting [white supremacy](/source/White_supremacy).[85]

#### Stalinist pseudohistory

[League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class](/source/League_of_Struggle_for_the_Emancipation_of_the_Working_Class), 1897, shortly before the arrest by the Russian secret service. Lenin is sitting in the center. After [Aleksandr Malchenko](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aleksandr_Malchenko&action=edit&redlink=1) [[ru](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BA%D0%BE,_%D0%90%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D1%80_%D0%9B%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%82%D1%8C%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87)] fell out of favor with Stalin in 1930, he was removed from the picture.

Supporters of [Stalinist](/source/Stalinism) pseudohistory claim, among other things, that [Joseph Stalin](/source/Joseph_Stalin) and other top Soviet leaders did not realize the scope of mass killings [perpetrated under the Stalin regime](/source/Stalinism#Purges_and_executions), that executions of prisoners were legally justifiable, and that prisoners in Soviet [gulags](/source/Gulag) performed important construction work that helped the Soviet Union economically, particularly during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). Scholars point to overwhelming evidence that Stalin directly helped plan mass killings, that many prisoners were sent to gulags or executed extrajudicially, and that many prisoners did no productive work, often being isolated in remote camps or given pointless and menial tasks.[86]

#### Anti-religious pseudohistory

See also: [Bible conspiracy theory](/source/Bible_conspiracy_theory) and [Christ myth theory](/source/Christ_myth_theory)

The [Christ myth theory](/source/Christ_myth_theory) claims that [Jesus](/source/Jesus) of Nazareth never existed as a historical figure and was imagined by early Christians or arose from earlier beliefs such as [star worship](/source/Worship_of_heavenly_bodies). This argument currently finds very little support among scholars and historians of all faiths and has been described as pseudohistorical.[87][88][89]

Likewise, some minority historian views assert that [Muhammad](/source/Muhammad) either did not exist or was [not central to founding Islam](/source/Historicity_of_Muhammad#Minority_views_(Muhammad_as_mythical_figure)).[90]

#### Religious pseudohistory

*[The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail](/source/Holy_Blood%2C_Holy_Grail)* (1982) by [Michael Baigent](/source/Michael_Baigent), [Richard Leigh](/source/Richard_Leigh_(author)), and [Henry Lincoln](/source/Henry_Lincoln) is a book that purports to show that certain historical figures, such as [Godfrey of Bouillon](/source/Godfrey_of_Bouillon), and contemporary aristocrats are the lineal descendants of [Jesus](/source/Jesus). Mainstream historians have widely panned the book, categorizing it as pseudohistory,[91][92][93] and pointing out that the genealogical tables used in it are now known to be spurious.[94] Nonetheless, the book was an international best-seller[93] and inspired [Dan Brown](/source/Dan_Brown)'s bestselling mystery [thriller novel](/source/Thriller_(genre)) *[The Da Vinci Code](/source/The_Da_Vinci_Code)*.[93][7]: 2–3

Although historians and archaeologists consider the [Book of Mormon](/source/Book_of_Mormon) to be an anachronistic invention of Joseph Smith, many members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) believe that it describes [ancient historical events](/source/Historicity_of_the_Book_of_Mormon) in the Americas.

[Searches for Noah's Ark](/source/Searches_for_Noah's_Ark) have also been categorized as pseudohistory.[95][96][97]

In her books, starting with *[The Witch-Cult in Western Europe](/source/The_Witch-Cult_in_Western_Europe)* (1921), English author [Margaret Murray](/source/Margaret_Murray) claimed that the [witch trials in the early modern period](/source/Witch_trials_in_the_early_modern_period) were actually an attempt by chauvinistic Christians to annihilate a [secret, pagan religion](/source/Witch-cult_hypothesis),[98] which she claimed worshipped a [Horned God](/source/Horned_God).[98] Murray's claims have now been widely rejected by respected historians.[99][100][98] Nonetheless, her ideas have become the [foundation myth](/source/Origin_myth) for modern [Wicca](/source/Wicca), a contemporary [Neopagan](/source/Modern_paganism) religion.[100][101] Belief in Murray's alleged witch-cult is still prevalent among Wiccans,[101] but is gradually declining.[101]

The belief that [ancient India](/source/Ancient_India) was technologically advanced to the extent of being a nuclear power has been popularized by [Hindu nationalists](/source/Hindutva) on the premise that "fantastical" scientific and medical achievements described in [Hindu mythology](/source/Hindu_mythology) are historically accurate.[102] In 2014, [Prime Minister](/source/Prime_Minister_of_India) [Narendra Modi](/source/Narendra_Modi) told doctors and medical staff at a Mumbai hospital that the story of the [Hindu god](/source/Hindu_god) [Ganesha](/source/Ganesha)—described as having the head of an elephant and the body of a human—shows [genetic science](/source/Genetic_science) and [cosmetic surgery](/source/Cosmetic_surgery) existed in ancient India.[102][103] Another example was the [2015 Indian Science Congress ancient aircraft controversy](/source/2015_Indian_Science_Congress_ancient_aircraft_controversy), when Capt. Anand J. Bodas, retired principal of a pilot training facility, claimed at the [Indian Science Congress](/source/Indian_Science_Congress) that [mythical aircraft](/source/Vimana) more advanced than today's aircraft flew in ancient India.[104] Nationalists have proposed that these aircraft and other ancient mythical technology should be presented as authentic in school textbooks.[102] Aniket Sule, an [astrophysicist](/source/Astrophysicist) at the Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education, said that "people close to the current [Modi] government... feel that the present curriculum for science and history is too Western-centric" and that they may "brainwash a generation" of Indian scholars with such claims.[102]

[Baptist successionism](/source/Baptist_successionism) posits that the [Baptist](/source/Baptist) church did not originate with 17th-century [Puritan](/source/Puritan) [English Dissenters](/source/English_Dissenters), and that it instead represents an unbroken church lineage reaching back to [John the Baptist](/source/John_the_Baptist) and the [Book of Acts](/source/Book_of_Acts) via a familial relationship between historic Christian churches with beliefs similar to modern Baptists. Historians point to a lack of evidence linking the disparate sects that comprise the lineage and note that some of them held beliefs antithetical to Baptist doctrine.[105][106][107] Historian H. Leon McBeth wrote that "This view is based on inadequate sources, was more polemic than historical, and made large assumptions where evidence was lacking."[105] Successionism implies that the Baptist church predates the Catholic Church, calling into question whether Baptists are indeed [Protestants](/source/Protestants) and downplaying the influence of the [Reformation](/source/Reformation), contrary to evidence that the 17th-century founders of the Baptist movement viewed themselves as participants in the Reformation.[105][108] Some successionists claim that persecution by the Catholic Church explains the lack of evidence for the successionist lineage.[106][107]

In South Asia, pseudohistorical narratives are sometimes used to relocate or reinterpret religious history in order to support religious identity claims.[109]

## As a topic of study

Courses critiquing pseudohistory are offered as undergraduate courses in liberal arts settings, one example being in [Claremont McKenna College](/source/Claremont_McKenna_College).[110]

## See also

- [Big lie](/source/Big_lie) – Propaganda technique

- [Disinformation](/source/Disinformation)

- [Found manuscript](/source/Found_manuscript)

- [Pseudoscientific metrology](/source/Pseudoscientific_metrology)

- [List of pseudohistorians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Pseudohistorians)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Herf, Jeffrey](/source/Jeffrey_Herf) (2006). [*The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during the World War II and the Holocaust*](/source/The_Jewish_Enemy). Harvard University Press. p. 127. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-674038-59-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674038-59-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Igdir_2-0)** - Marchand, Laure; Perrier, Guillaume (2015). *Turkey and the Armenian Ghost: On the Trail of the Genocide*. [McGill-Queen's Press](/source/McGill-Queen's_Press). pp. 111–112. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7735-9720-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7735-9720-4). The Iğdır genocide monument is the ultimate caricature of the Turkish government's policy of denying the 1915 genocide by rewriting history and transforming victims into guilty parties. - [Hovannisian 2001](#CITEREFHovannisian2001), p. 803. "... the unbending attitude of the Ankara government, in 1995 of a multi-volume work of the prime ministry's state archives titled *Armenian Atrocities in the Caucasus and Anatolia According to Archival Documents*. The purpose of the publication is not only to reiterate all previous denials but also to demonstrate that it was in fact the Turkish people who were the victims of a genocide perpetrated by the Armenians." - [Cheterian 2015](#CITEREFCheterian2015), pp. 65–66. "Some of the proponents of this official narrative have even gone so far as to claim that the Armenians were the real aggressors, and that Muslim losses were greater than those of the Armenians." - [Gürpınar 2016](#CITEREFGürpınar2016), p. 234. "Maintaining that 'the best defence is a good offence', the new strategy involved accusing Armenians in response for perpetrating genocide against the Turks. The violence committed by the Armenian committees under the Russian occupation of Eastern Anatolia and massacring of tens of thousands of Muslims (Turks and Kurds) in revenge killings in 1916–17 was extravagantly displayed, magnified and decontextualized."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Joseph Goebbels On the "Big Lie""](https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joseph-goebbels-on-the-quot-big-lie-quot). *www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org*. Retrieved 2024-03-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Monthly magazine and British register, Volume 55 (February 1823), [p. 449](https://books.google.com/books?id=q00oAAAAYAAJ&q=pseudo-history&pg=PA449), in reference to John Galt, *Ringan Gilhaize: Or, The Covenanters*, Oliver & Boyd, 1823.[\[1\]](https://archive.org/details/ringangilhaizeo09galtgoog)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** C. A. Elton, *Remains of Hesiod the Ascraean* 1815, [p. xix](https://books.google.com/books?id=RcxfAAAAMAAJ&q=pseudo-history&pg=PR19).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** *The Critical review: or, Annals of literature*, Volume 1 ed. Tobias George Smollett, 1815, [p. 152](https://books.google.com/books?id=EsUPAAAAQAAJ&q=pseudo-history&pg=PA152)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-7) [***i***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-8) [***j***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-9) [***k***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-10) [***l***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-11) [***m***](#cite_ref-Fritze_7-12) Fritze, Ronald H. (2009). [*Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-Religions*](https://books.google.com/books?id=l2BrqdFg5AkC&q=Pseudohistory). London: Reaktion Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-86189-430-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86189-430-4).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Shermer_8-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Shermer_8-1) Shermer, Michael; Grobman, Alex (2009). [*Denying History: Who Says the Holocaust Never Happened and Why Do They Say It?*](https://books.google.com/books?id=uACijKy-cbgC&q=Holocaust+denial+pseudohistory&pg=PA237). Oakland: University of California Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-520-26098-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-520-26098-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Allchin, D. (2004). ["Pseudohistory and pseudoscience"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080512082518/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~allch001/papers/pseudo.pdf) (PDF). *Science & Education*. **1** (13): 179–195. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2004Sc&Ed..13..179A](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004Sc&Ed..13..179A). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1023/B:SCED.0000025563.35883.e9](https://doi.org/10.1023%2FB%3ASCED.0000025563.35883.e9). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [7378302](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:7378302). Archived from [the original](http://www.tc.umn.edu/~allch001/papers/pseudo.pdf) (PDF) on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2007-02-20.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Carroll, Robert Todd. [*The skeptic's dictionary*](http://www.skepdic.com/pseudohs.html). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons (2003), p. 305.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Goodrick-Clarke 1985: 224, 225

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, *The Occult Roots of Nazism*, p. 225 (Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2005 ed.). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-86064-973-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-86064-973-8)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Ellis, Joseph J. *American Dialogue: The Founders and Us*. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. p. 168.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Novikov, S. P.](/source/Sergei_Novikov_(mathematician)) (2000). "Pseudohistory and pseudomathematics: fantasy in our life". *Russian Mathematical Surveys*. **55** (2): 365–368. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2000RuMaS..55..365N](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2000RuMaS..55..365N). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1070/RM2000v055n02ABEH000287](https://doi.org/10.1070%2FRM2000v055n02ABEH000287). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [250892348](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:250892348).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** "In his book *A Test of Time* (1995), Rohl argues that the conventionally accepted dates for strata such as the Middle and Late Bronze Ages in Palestine are wrong" – in Daniel Jacobs, Shirley Eber, Francesca Silvani, *Israel and The Palestinian Territories: The Rough Guide*, p. 424 (Rough Guides Ltd., 2nd rev. ed., 1998). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-85828-248-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-85828-248-0)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** ["Before Jon Stewart"](https://web.archive.org/web/20210507222608/https://archives.cjr.org/feature/before_jon_stewart.php). *[Columbia Journalism Review](/source/Columbia_Journalism_Review)*. Archived from [the original](http://archives.cjr.org/feature/before_jon_stewart.php) on May 7, 2021. Retrieved February 19, 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Thorpe, Lewis. *The History of the Kings of Britain*. p. 17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Hope, Warren and Kim Holston. *The Shakespeare Controversy* (2009) 2nd ed., 3: "In short, this is a history written in opposition to the current prevailing view".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Potter, Lois. "Marlowe onstage" in *Constructing Christopher Marlowe*, James Alan Downie and J. T. Parnell, eds. (2000, 2001), paperback ed., 88–101; 100: "The possibility that Shakespeare may not really be Shakespeare, comic in the context of literary history and pseudo-history, is understandable in this world of double-agents . . ."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Aaronovitch, David. "The anti-Stratfordians" in *Voodoo Histories* (2010), 226–229: "There is, however, a psychological or anthropological question to be answered about our consumption of pseudo-history and pseudoscience. I have now plowed through enough of these books to be able to state that, as a genre, they are badly written and, in their anxiety to establish their dubious neo-scholarly credentials, incredibly tedious. … Why do we read bad history books that have the added lack of distinction of not being in any way true or useful …"

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Kathman, David. [Shakespeare Authorship Page](http://shakespeareauthorship.com/harpers.html): "... Shakespeare scholars regard Oxfordianism as pseudo-scholarship which arbitrarily discards the methods used by real historians. ... In order to support their beliefs, Oxfordians resort to a number of tactics which will be familiar to observers of other forms of pseudo-history and pseudo-science."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-22)** [Specter, Arlen](/source/Arlen_Specter) (Spring 1995). ["Defending the wall: Maintaining church/state separation in America"](http://connection.ebscohost.com/content/article/1027400469.html). *[Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy](/source/Harvard_Journal_of_Law_and_Public_Policy)*. **18** (2): 575–590.[*[dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-23)** [Leopold, Jason](/source/Jason_Leopold) (14 January 2008). ["House Passes, Considers Evangelical Resolutions"](http://www.baltimorechronicle.com/2008/011508Leopold.shtml). *www.baltimorechronicle.com*. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Pierard_24-0)** [Boston Theological Institute Newsletter Volume XXXIV, No. 17](https://web.archive.org/web/20090317021107/http://www.bostontheological.org/publications/pdf/2004-2005/jan252005.pdf), Richard V. Pierard, January 25, 2005

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:1_25-0)** [Boston, Rob](/source/Rob_Boston) (2007). ["Dissecting the religious right's favorite Bible Curriculum"](http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Dissecting+the+religious+right%27s+favorite+Bible+Curriculum.%28Church+&...-a0170729742), [Americans United for Separation of Church and State](/source/Americans_United_for_Separation_of_Church_and_State), American Humanist Association. Retrieved on April 9, 2013

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:2_26-0)** Harvey, Paul (10 May 2011). ["Selling the Idea of a Christian Nation: David Barton's Alternate Intellectual Universe"](http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4589/selling_the_idea_of_a_christian_nation%3A_david_barton%27s_alternate_intellectual_universe). *[Religion Dispatches](/source/Religion_Dispatches)*. Retrieved April 9, 2013.[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-27)** David Barton (December 2008). ["Confronting Civil War Revisionism: Why the South Went To War"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131231075954/http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=92). *Wall Builders*. Archived from [the original](http://www.wallbuilders.com/libissuesarticles.asp?id=92) on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-28)** Barrett Brown (27 December 2010). ["Neoconfederate civil war revisionism: Those who commemorate the South's fallen heroes are entitled to do so, but not to deny that slavery was the war's prime cause"](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/dec/26/american-civil-war-usa). *TheGuardian.com*. Retrieved 30 December 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-29)** ["Howard Swint: Confederate revisionism warps U.S. history"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131231094729/http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Opinion/Commentary/201106140917). *Charleston Daily Mail*. June 15, 2011. Archived from [the original](http://www.charlestondailymail.com/Opinion/Commentary/201106140917) on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-30)** Linehan, Hugh. ["Sinn Féin not allowing facts derail good 'Irish slaves' yarn"](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/sinn-f%C3%A9in-not-allowing-facts-derail-good-irish-slaves-yarn-1.2644397). *The Irish Times*. Retrieved 2021-03-30.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-31)** Kennedy, Liam (2015). [*Unhappy the Land: The Most Oppressed People Ever, the Irish?*](/source/Unhappy_the_Land%3A_The_Most_Oppressed_People_Ever%2C_the_Irish%3F). Dublin: Irish Academic Press. p. 19. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1785370472](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1785370472).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-32)** Bilali, Rezarta; Iqbal, Yeshim; Freel, Samuel (9 December 2019). "Understanding and Counteracting Genocide Denial". In Newman, Leonard S. (ed.). *Confronting Humanity at its Worst: Social Psychological Perspectives on Genocide*. Oxford Academic. pp. 284–311. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1093/oso/9780190685942.003.0011](https://doi.org/10.1093%2Foso%2F9780190685942.003.0011). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-068594-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-068594-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-33)** Sa'di, Ahmad H.; Abu-Lughod, Lila (2007-04-10). *Nakba: Palestine, 1948, and the Claims of Memory*. Columbia University Press. p. 304. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-231-50970-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-50970-1). The myth advanced by Joan Peters in her pseudo-historical book, From Time Immemorial

1. **[^](#cite_ref-34)** Barzun, Jacques (1989). [*Clio and the Doctors: Psycho-History, Quanto-History and History*](https://books.google.com/books?id=CqW82zyUoVAC&q=clio+and+the+doctors). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 3. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0226038513](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0226038513). Retrieved 30 July 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-35)** Hunt, Lynn (2002). ["Psychology, Pschoanalysis and Historical Thought – The Misfortunes of Psychohistory"](https://books.google.com/books?id=E2eKDjo4B_IC&q=psychohistory+is+a+pseudoscience&pg=PA339). In Kramer Lloyd S. and Maza, Sarah C. (ed.). *A Companion to Western Historical Thought*. Blackwell Publishing. pp. 337–357. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-631-21714-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-631-21714-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-36)** Paul H. Elovitz, Ed., *Psychohistory for the Twenty-First Century* (2013) pp. 1–3.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-37)** ["What did the Nazis have to do with archaeology?"](https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/archaeology/nazi-archaeology.htm). *HowStuffWorks*. 1970-01-01. Retrieved 2024-03-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-38)** Fagan, Garrett G. (1963). *Archaeological Fantasies: how pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and misleads the public*. Routledge. p. 27. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-415-30593-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-30593-4). {{[cite book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_book)}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility ([help](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#invalid_isbn_date))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-heiser_39-0)** Michael S. Heiser. ["The Myth of a Sumerian 12th Planet"](https://web.archive.org/web/20081120023753/http://www.michaelsheiser.com/nibiru.pdf) (PDF). Archived from [the original](http://www.michaelsheiser.com/nibiru.pdf) (PDF) on 20 November 2008. Retrieved 30 July 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Skepdic_40-0)** Carroll, Robert T (1994–2009). ["Zecharia Sitchin and *The Earth Chronicles*"](http://www.skepdic.com/sitchin.html). *The Skeptic's Dictionary*. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved 30 July 2017.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Fritze2009_41-0)** Fritze, Ronald H. (November 2009). "On the Perils and Pleasures of Confronting Pseudohistory". *Historically Speaking*. **10** (5): 2–5. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1353/hsp.0.0067](https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fhsp.0.0067). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1941-4188](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1941-4188). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144988932](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144988932).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Rorotoko_42-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Rorotoko_42-1) Fritze, Ronald (8 July 2009). ["Ronald H. Fritze, On his book Invented Knowledge: False History, Fake Science and Pseudo-Religions, Cover Interview"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191228085921/http://rorotoko.com/interview/20090708_fritze_ronald_invented_knowledge_false_history_fake_science_pseudo/?page=4). *July 08, 2009*. Rorotoko.com. Archived from [the original](http://rorotoko.com/interview/20090708_fritze_ronald_invented_knowledge_false_history_fake_science_pseudo/?page=4) on December 28, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-43)** Sheiko, Konstantin (2012). [*Nationalist Imaginings of the Russian Past: Anatolii Fomenko and the Rise of Alternative History in Post-Communist Russia*](https://books.google.com/books?id=74s0DwAAQBAJ&q=Graham+Hancock+Pseudohistory&pg=PA83). Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society. Vol. 86. Stuttgart, Germany: Ibidem-Verlag. p. 83. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-3838259154](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3838259154).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-44)** Merriman, Nick, editor, *Public Archaeology*, Routledge, 2004 p. 260

1. **[^](#cite_ref-45)** Tonkin, S., 2003, [Uriel's Machine – a Commentary on some of the Astronomical Assertions.](http://www.astunit.com/astrocrud/uriel.htm)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-46)** Merriman, Nick, ed. (2004). "The comforts of unreason: the importance and relevance of alternative archaeology". [*Public Archaeology*](https://archive.org/details/publicarchaeolog00merr_661). London: [Routledge](/source/Routledge). p. [260](https://archive.org/details/publicarchaeolog00merr_661/page/n274). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0415258890](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0415258890).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-47)** Tonkin, Stephen (2003). ["Uriel's Machine – a Commentary on some of the Astronomical Assertions"](http://astunit.com/astrocrud.php?topic=uriel). *The Astronomical Unit*. Retrieved 21 November 2013.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ushmm.org_48-0)** ["Protocols of the Elders of Zion"](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/protocols-of-the-elders-of-zion). *encyclopedia.ushmm.org*. Retrieved May 28, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-49)** Philip Graves (August 16–18, 1921). ["The truth about "The Protocols""](https://archive.org/details/truthaboutthepro00londiala). *The Times*. London.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-translated97_50-0)** Segel, Binjamin W (1996) [1926], [Levy, Richard S](/source/Richard_S._Levy) (ed.), *A Lie and a Libel: The History of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion*, University of Nebraska Press, p. 97, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8032-9245-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8032-9245-7).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Lipstadt_51-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Lipstadt_51-1) Lipstadt, Deborah E. (1994). [*Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault on Truth and Memory*](https://archive.org/details/denyingholocaust00lips/page/215). New York: Plume. p. [215](https://archive.org/details/denyingholocaust00lips/page/215). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-452-27274-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-452-27274-2).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-52)** Sherwin, Elisabeth. ["Clarence Walker encourages black Americans to discard Afrocentrism"](http://dcn.davis.ca.us/~gizmo/2001/clarence.html). Davis Community Network. Retrieved 2007-11-13.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Ortiz1997_53-0)** Ortiz de Montellano, Bernardo & Gabriel Haslip Viera & Warren Barbour (1997). "They were NOT here before Columbus: Afrocentric hyper-diffusionism in the 1990s". *Ethnohistory*. **44** (2). Duke University Press: 199–234. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/483368](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F483368). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [483368](https://www.jstor.org/stable/483368).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-54)** Nanda, Meera (January–March 2005). ["Response to my critics"](http://physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/Nanda_SocEpist.pdf) (PDF). *Social Epistemology*. **19** (1): 147–191. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/02691720500084358](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02691720500084358). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [10045510](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:10045510). [Sokal, Alan](/source/Alan_Sokal) (2006). "Pseudoscience and Postmodernism: Antagonists or Fellow-Travelers?". In Fagan, Garrett (ed.). *Archaeological Fantasies: How pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and misleads the public*. [Routledge](/source/Routledge). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-415-30592-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-415-30592-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-55)** [Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke](/source/Nicholas_Goodrick-Clarke). 1985. *[The Occult Roots of Nazism](/source/The_Occult_Roots_of_Nazism): Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology: The Ariosophists of Austria and Germany, 1890–1935*. Wellingborough, England: The Aquarian Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85030-402-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85030-402-4). (Several reprints.) Expanded with a new Preface, 2004, I.B. Tauris & Co. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-86064-973-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-86064-973-4)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-56)** Kristkoiz, Suzanne (2021-04-21). ["The Utilisation of Historically Revisionist Narratives by the FPÖ and the AfD"](https://www.e-ir.info/2021/04/21/the-utilisation-of-historically-revisionist-narratives-by-the-fpo-and-the-afd/). *E-International Relations*. Retrieved 2024-03-27.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-57)** Aytürk, İlker (November 2004). ["Turkish Linguists against the West: The Origins of Linguistic Nationalism in Atatürk's Turkey"](http://repository.bilkent.edu.tr/bitstream/11693/49528/1/Turkish_linguists_against_the_West_the_Origins_of_linguistic_nationalism_Ataturks_Turkey.pdf) (PDF). *Middle Eastern Studies*. **40** (6). London: Frank Cass & Co (Routledge): 1–25. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/0026320042000282856](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F0026320042000282856). [hdl](/source/Hdl_(identifier)):[11693/49528](https://hdl.handle.net/11693%2F49528). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0026-3206](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0026-3206). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [86539631](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/86539631). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [144968896](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144968896).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-58)** [Zuckermann, Ghil'ad](/source/Ghil'ad_Zuckermann) (2003), [Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew](/source/Language_Contact_and_Lexical_Enrichment_in_Israeli_Hebrew). [Palgrave Macmillan](/source/Palgrave_Macmillan). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1403917232](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1403917232) [\[2\]](http://www.palgrave.com/br/book/9781403917232), p. 165.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-59)** Melton, J. Gordon (2005). [*Encyclopedia of Protestantism*](https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaprot00melt_306). New York: Facts on File, Inc. p. [107](https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaprot00melt_306/page/n656). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8160-5456-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8160-5456-8).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-60)** Cross, Frank Leslie; Livingstone, Elizabeth A. (2005). [*The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church*](https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA241). Oxford University Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0192802903](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0192802903).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-61)** Shapiro, Faydra L. (2015). *Christian Zionism: Navigating the Jewish-Christian Border*. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. p. 151.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-62)** Anastas Vangeli, Nation-building ancient Macedonian style: the origins and the effects of the so-called antiquization in Macedonia. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/00905992.2010.532775](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F00905992.2010.532775) Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-63)** Todorović, Miloš (2019). ["Nationalistic Pseudohistory in the Balkans"](https://www.academia.edu/41295763). *Skeptic Magazine*. **24** (4). Retrieved 26 January 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nyt-macedonia_64-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nyt-macedonia_64-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-nyt-macedonia_64-2) Higgins, Andrew (June 19, 2024). ["Who Owns Alexander the Great? It's a Diplomatic Minefield"](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/19/world/europe/north-macedonia-history-statues.html?searchResultPosition=1). *The New York Times*. New York City. Retrieved August 26, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-65)** Svetozar Rajak, Konstantina E. Botsiou, Eirini Karamouzi, Evanthis Hatzivassiliou ed. The Balkans in the Cold War. Security, Conflict and Cooperation in the Contemporary World, Springer, 2017, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1137439033](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1137439033), p. 313.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-66)** [Македонски историк призна: Да, има фалшификации в историографията ни](https://novini.bg/sviat/balkani/689565)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-67)** Коста Църнушанов ["Македонизмът и съпротивата на Македония срещу него"](https://www.strumski.com/books/Kosta_Tsyrnushabnov_Makedonizmyt_Sbit.pdf). София, Университетско издателство „Св. Климент Охридски“, 1992. стр. 428

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-nyt-prespa_68-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-nyt-prespa_68-1) Kitsantonis, Niki (June 12, 2018). ["Macedonia Agrees to Change Its Name to Resolve Dispute With Greece"](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/12/world/europe/macedonia-greece-name-dispute.html). *The New York Times*. New York City. Retrieved August 26, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-69)** Willi, Andreas (October–November 2009). ["Whose Is Macedonia, Whose Is Alexander?"](https://doi.org/10.5184/00098353.105.1.59). *The Classical Journal*. **105** (1): 59–64. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.5184/00098353.105.1.59](https://doi.org/10.5184%2F00098353.105.1.59). Retrieved August 26, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-70)** Boia, Lucian (1997). *Istorie și mit în conștiința românească*. Bucharest, Romania: Humanitas. pp. 160–161.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-71)** [Boia 1997](#CITEREFBoia1997), pp. 149–151

1. **[^](#cite_ref-George_Pruteanu_72-0)** ["Doar o vorbă SĂȚ-I mai spun"](http://georgepruteanu.ro/4doarovorba/emis000-protv-960325-traco-daci.htm). *George Pruteanu* (in Romanian). 26 March 1996. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-73)** [Boia 1997](#CITEREFBoia1997), p. 169

1. **[^](#cite_ref-74)** [Boia 1997](#CITEREFBoia1997), pp. 120, 154–156

1. **[^](#cite_ref-75)** Goldberg, Steven, *The Inevitability of Patriarchy* (William Morrow & Co., 1973).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-76)** [Eller (2000)](#CITEREFEller2000)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-77)** Brown, Donald E., *Human Universals* (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991), p. 137.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_78-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_78-1) The view of matriarchy as constituting an evolutionary stage of cultural development preceding patriarchy establishment now is generally discredited. *Encyclopædia Britannica* (2007), entry *Matriarchy*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Nelson_79-0)** Ruth Whitehouse. "The Mother Goddess Hypothesis and Its Critics," in *Handbook of Gender in Archaeology*, Sarah Milledge Nelson (ed.), [pp. 756–758](https://books.google.com/books?id=EtIQUpgo2cEC&q=mother+goddess+hypothesis)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-80)** ["Did Muslims Visit America Before Columbus?"](http://hnn.us/article/23662). *hnn.us*. 8 May 2006.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Williams_81-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Williams_81-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Williams_81-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-Williams_81-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-Williams_81-4) Williams, Stephen (1991). [*Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory*](https://archive.org/details/fantasticarchaeo00will). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-82)** Priest, Josiah (1826). [*The Wonders of Nature, and Providence Displayed*](https://books.google.com/books?id=DJsRAAAAIAAJ). Albany: E & E Hosford.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-83)** Priest, Josiah (1835). [*American Antiquities and Discoveries in the West*](https://archive.org/details/americanantiqui05priegoog). Albany: Hoffman and White.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-84)** Priest, Josiah (1843). [*Slavery, As It Relates to the Negro*](https://archive.org/stream/slaveryasitrela00priegoog#page/n7/mode/1up). Albany: C. van Bethuysen & Co.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-85)** Regal, Brian (2019). "Everything Means Something in Viking". *[Skeptical Inquirer](/source/Skeptical_Inquirer)*. Vol. 43, no. 6. [Center for Inquiry](/source/Center_for_Inquiry). pp. 44–47.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-86)** [Мне говорят, что репрессий в СССР не было. Как с этим спорить?](https://meduza.io/cards/mne-govoryat-chto-repressiy-v-sssr-ne-bylo-kak-s-etim-sporit)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Ehrman285_87-0)** In a 2011 review of the state of modern scholarship, [Bart Ehrman](/source/Bart_Ehrman) (a secular agnostic) wrote: "He certainly existed, as virtually every competent scholar of antiquity, Christian or non-Christian, agrees" B. Ehrman, 2011 *Forged : writing in the name of God* [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-06-207863-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-06-207863-6). p. 285

1. **[^](#cite_ref-88)** - [Robert M. Price](/source/Robert_M._Price) "Jesus at the Vanishing Point" in *The Historical Jesus: Five Views* edited by James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, 2009 InterVarsity, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [028106329X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/028106329X) p. 61 - [Michael Grant](/source/Michael_Grant_(author)) *Jesus: An Historian's Review of the Gospels* by Michael Grant 2004 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1898799881](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1898799881) p. 200 "In recent years, 'no serious scholar has ventured to postulate the non historicity of Jesus' or at any rate very few, and they have not succeeded in disposing of the much stronger, indeed very abundant, evidence to the contrary." - [Richard A. Burridge](/source/Richard_A._Burridge) *Jesus Now and Then* by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould (2004) [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0802809774](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0802809774) p. 34 "There are those who argue that Jesus is a figment of the Church’s imagination, that there never was a Jesus at all. I have to say that I do not know any respectable critical scholar who says that anymore." - [Did Jesus exist?](/source/Did_Jesus_Exist%3F_(Ehrman)), [Bart Ehrman](/source/Bart_Ehrman), 2012, Chapter 1 - Sykes, Stephen W. (2007). "Paul's understanding of the death of Jesus". Sacrifice and Redemption. Cambridge University Press. pp. 35–36. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-521-04460-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-04460-8). - Dickson, John (24 December 2012). ["Best of 2012: The irreligious assault on the historicity of Jesus"](http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2012/12/24/3660194.htm). *[ABC News](/source/ABC_News_(Australia))*. Retrieved 17 June 2014. - Robert E. Van Voorst (2000). [*Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence*](https://books.google.com/books?id=lwzliMSRGGkC). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 14–16. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8028-4368-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8028-4368-5). - Houlden, James L. (2003). [*Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture: Entries A–J*](https://books.google.com/books?id=GjvmQgAACAAJ). [ABC-CLIO](/source/ABC-CLIO). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57607-856-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57607-856-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Powell1998_89-0)** Mark Allan Powell (1998). [*Jesus as a Figure in History: How Modern Historians View the Man from Galilee*](https://archive.org/details/jesusasfigureinh0000powe). [Westminster John Knox Press](/source/Westminster_John_Knox_Press). p. [168](https://archive.org/details/jesusasfigureinh0000powe/page/168). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-664-25703-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-664-25703-3).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-90)** ["Review of: Crossroads to Islam: The Origins of the Arab Religion and the Arab State"](https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2004/2004.02.33). *Bryn Mawr Classical Review*. [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1055-7660](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1055-7660).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-91)** - Thompson, Damian (2008). [*Counterknowledge. How We Surrendered to Conspiracy Theories, Quack Medicine, Bogus Science and Fake History*](/source/Counterknowledge). Atlantic Books. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-84354-675-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84354-675-7).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Jarnac, Pierre (1985). *Histoire du Trésor de Rennes-le-Château*. [Saleilles](/source/Saleilles): P. Jarnac.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Jarnac, Pierre (1988). *Les Archives de Rennes-le-Château*. Editions Belisane. Describing *The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail* as a "monument of mediocrity"[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Chaumeil, Jean-Luc (1994). *La Table d'Isis ou Le Secret de la Lumière*. Editions Guy Trédaniel.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Etchegoin, Marie-France; Lenoir, Frédéric (2004). *Code Da Vinci: L'Enquête*. Robert Laffont.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Bedu, Jean-Jacques (2005). *Les sources secrètes du Da Vinci Code*. Editions du Rocher.[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - Morley, Neville (1999). *Writing Ancient History*. Cornell University Press. p. 19. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8014-8633-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8014-8633-5).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Miller2004_93-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Miller2004_93-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Miller2004_93-2) Miller, Laura (22 February 2004). ["The Last Word; The Da Vinci Con"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07E0DD103AF931A15751C0A9629C8B63). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-94)** Miller, Laura (2006). Dan Burstein (ed.). [*Secrets of the Code*](https://archive.org/details/secretsofcode00dani_0/page/405). [Vanguard Press](/source/Vanguard_Press). p. [405](https://archive.org/details/secretsofcode00dani_0/page/405). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-59315-273-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-59315-273-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-95)** - [Fagan, Brian M.](/source/Brian_M._Fagan); Beck, Charlotte (1996). [*The Oxford Companion to Archaeology*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ystMAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA582). Oxford, England: [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-507618-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-507618-4).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - [Cline, Eric H.](/source/Eric_H._Cline) (2009). [*Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction*](https://books.google.com/books?id=zwNIDHSPsSMC&pg=PA72). Oxford, England: [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-19-974107-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-974107-6).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] - [Feder, Kenneth L.](/source/Kenneth_Feder) (2010). [*Encyclopedia of Dubious Archaeology: From Atlantis to the Walam Olum*](https://books.google.com/books?id=RlRz2symkAsC&pg=PA195). [Santa Barbara, California](/source/Santa_Barbara%2C_California): [ABC-CLIO](/source/ABC-CLIO). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-313-37919-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-37919-2).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Rough_Guides_96-0)** [Rickard, Bob](/source/Bob_Rickard); [Michell, John](/source/John_Michell) (2000). ["Arkeology"](https://books.google.com/books?id=MO-TWKwyEh0C&pg=PA179). *Unexplained Phenomena: A Rough Guide Special*. London: [Rough Guides](/source/Rough_Guides). pp. 179–183. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-85828-589-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-85828-589-5).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-97)** Dietz, Robert S. "Ark-Eology: A Frightening Example of Pseudo-Science" in *Geotimes* 38:9 (Sept. 1993) p. 4.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Purkiss1996_98-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Purkiss1996_98-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Purkiss1996_98-2) [Purkiss, Diane](/source/Diane_Purkiss) (1996). [*The Witch in History: Early Modern and Twentieth-Century Representations*](https://archive.org/details/witchhistoryearl00purk). Abingdon, England: Routledge. p. [62](https://archive.org/details/witchhistoryearl00purk/page/n70). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0415087629](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0415087629).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-99)** Russell, Jeffrey B.; Alexander, Brooks (2007), *A New History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans*, London: Thames and Hudson, p. 154, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-500-28634-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-500-28634-0)

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Simpson1994_100-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Simpson1994_100-1) [Simpson, Jacqueline](/source/Jacqueline_Simpson) (1994). ["Margaret Murray: Who Believed Her and Why?"](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F0015587x.1994.9715877). *Folklore*. **105** (1–2): 89–96. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/0015587x.1994.9715877](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F0015587x.1994.9715877).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Rabinovitch2002_101-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Rabinovitch2002_101-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Rabinovitch2002_101-2) Rabinovitch, Shelley; Lewis, James (2002). [*The Encyclopedia of Modern Witchcraft and Neo-Paganism*](https://books.google.com/books?id=xuvLRbKvyGEC&q=Burning+Times+debunked&pg=PA35). New York: Kensington Publishing Corporation. pp. 32–35. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8065-2407-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8065-2407-3).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-undark_102-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-undark_102-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-undark_102-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-undark_102-3) Kumar, Ruchi (12 October 2018). ["The Threat of Pseudoscience in India"](https://undark.org/article/indian-scientists-confront-pseudoscience/). *Undark*. Retrieved 2 March 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-103)** Maseeh Rahman (28 October 2014). ["Indian prime minister claims genetic science existed in ancient times"](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/28/indian-prime-minister-genetic-science-existed-ancient-times). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 26 April 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-104)** Lakshmi, Rama (4 January 2015). ["Indians invented planes 7,000 years ago – and other startling claims at the Science Congress"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/01/04/indians-invented-planes-7000-years-ago-and-other-startling-claims-at-the-science-congress/?noredirect=on). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved 30 April 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-McBeth_105-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-McBeth_105-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-McBeth_105-2) McBeth, H. Leon (1987). [*The Baptist Heritage: Four Centuries of Baptist Witness*](https://archive.org/details/baptistheritage0000mcbe). Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman Press. pp. 58–62. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8054-6569-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8054-6569-3).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BaptistNews_106-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BaptistNews_106-1) Herald, Religious (July 26, 2007). ["Vatican's claim has parallels in Baptist successionism"](https://baptistnews.com/article/vaticansclaimhasparallelsinbaptistsuccessionism/). *Baptist News Global*. Retrieved June 5, 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Longenecker_107-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Longenecker_107-1) ["The Case Against Baptist Successionism"](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/stewards-of-the-kingdom). *Catholic Answers*. Retrieved 2024-12-09.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Priest2_108-0)** Priest, Gerald L (14 October 2010), [*Are Baptists Protestants?*](https://web.archive.org/web/20170620124136/http://www.dbts.edu/pdf/macp/2007/Priest,%20Are%20Baptists%20Protestants.pdf) (PDF), Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, archived from the original on 20 June 2017{{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown)).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-109)** Rathanasara, Kaudagammana (2025-11-25). ["The Battle for Jambudvīpa: Pseudohistory in Sri Lanka"](https://www.historiadahistoriografia.com.br/revista/article/view/2257). *História da Historiografia: International Journal of Theory and History of Historiography*. **18**: 1–16. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.15848/hh.v18.2257](https://doi.org/10.15848%2Fhh.v18.2257). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [1983-9928](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1983-9928).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-110)** ["Examination of 'pseudohistory' and how to uncover trustworthy accounts focus of next Modern China Lecture | CSUSB News"](https://web.archive.org/web/20191222143608/https://inside.csusb.edu/content/examination-%E2%80%98pseudohistory%E2%80%99-and-how-uncover-trustworthy-accounts-focus-next-modern-china). *inside.csusb.edu*. Archived from [the original](https://inside.csusb.edu/content/examination-%E2%80%98pseudohistory%E2%80%99-and-how-uncover-trustworthy-accounts-focus-next-modern-china) on 2019-12-22. Retrieved 2019-04-26.

### Works cited

- [Cheterian, Vicken](/source/Vicken_Cheterian) (2015). *Open Wounds: Armenians, Turks and a Century of Genocide*. [Hurst](/source/C._Hurst_%26_Co.). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-84904-458-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-84904-458-5).

- [Eller, Cynthia](/source/Cynthia_Eller) (2000). [*The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Won't Give Women a Future*](/source/The_Myth_of_Matriarchal_Prehistory). Boston, MA: Beacon Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8070-6792-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8070-6792-5).

- Gürpınar, Doğan (2016). "The Manufacturing of Denial: the Making of the Turkish 'Official Thesis' on the Armenian Genocide Between 1974 and 1990". *Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies*. **18** (3): 217–240. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1080/19448953.2016.1176397](https://doi.org/10.1080%2F19448953.2016.1176397).

- [Hovannisian, Richard G.](/source/Richard_G._Hovannisian) (2001). "Denial: The Armenian Genocide as a Prototype". *Remembering for the Future: The Holocaust in an Age of Genocide*. Palgrave Macmillan UK. pp. 796–812. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-349-66019-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-349-66019-3).

## External links

Look up ***[pseudohistory](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pseudohistory)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

- ["Pseudohistory and Pseudoscience"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080512082518/http://www.tc.umn.edu/~allch001/papers/pseudo.pdf) Program in the History of Science and Technology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.

- [Pseudohistory](http://skepdic.com/pseudohs.html) entry at [Skeptic's Dictionary](/source/Skeptic's_Dictionary)

- [The Hall of Ma'at](http://www.hallofmaat.com)

- ["The Restoration of History"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100615192342/http://nizkor.org/hweb/orgs/american/skeptic-magazine/skeptic-13.html) from the American *[Skeptic](/source/Skeptic_(U.S._magazine))* magazine.

v t e Pseudoscience List of pseudoscience topics Terminology Cargo cult science Charlatan Crank Fringe theory Fringe science Pseudoarchaeology Pseudohistory Pseudomathematics Junk science Paranormal Pathological science Quackery Snake oil Superseded scientific theory True-believer syndrome Voodoo Science Topics characterized as pseudoscience Medicine Acupuncture Aromatherapy Adrenal fatigue Alternative medicine Anthroposophic medicine Applied kinesiology Ayurveda Bates method Biorhythms Bloodletting Body memory Chiropractic Chromotherapy Correactology Cryonics Crystal healing Cupping Detoxification Colon cleansing Doctrine of signatures Doktor Koster's Antigaspills Ear candling Electromagnetic hypersensitivity Energy medicine Fad diet FasciaBlaster Germ theory denialism HIV/AIDS denialism Homeopathy Humorism Iridology Leaky gut syndrome LGBTQ chemicals conspiracy theory Lunar effect Macrobiotic diet Magnet therapy Miracle Mineral Supplement Naturopathy Palmistry Panchagavya Patent medicine Phrenology Primal therapy Radionics Reiki Traditional medicine Traditional Chinese medicine Trepanning Vertebral subluxation Wind turbine syndrome Young blood transfusion Social science 2012 phenomenon Ancient astronauts Arabian Judah theory Catastrophism Conspiracy theory 5G conspiracy 9/11 conspiracy theories Chemtrail conspiracy theory Climate change denial COVID-19 misinformation Moon landing conspiracy theories Opposition to water fluoridation Conversion therapy Expanding Earth Theory Generational theory Generationism Strauss–Howe generational theory Hollow Earth theory Indigo children Japhetic theory Mediumship Nazi archaeology Nibiru cataclysm Parapsychology Pseudoarchaeology Pseudohistory Genocide denial Historical negationism Holocaust denial Tartarian Empire Pseudolaw Recovered-memory therapy Past life regression Scientific racism Aryan race Melanin theory Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Enneagram of Personality Physics Anti-gravity Cold fusion Faster-than-light travel Perpetual motion Quantum mysticism Reactionless drive Dean drive EMDrive Teleportation Tractor beam Water-fuelled car Other Alchemy Aquatic ape hypothesis Astrology Biodynamic agriculture Biological transmutation Conscientiology Creation science Cryptozoology Dianetics Auditing Dowsing Electronic voice phenomenon Eugenics Facilitated communication Feng shui Flat Earth theory Modern flat Earth beliefs Graphology Intelligent design Laundry ball Law of attraction Levitation Lysenkoism Numerology Orgone Polygraph Pseudoscientific metrology Rapid prompting method Statement analysis Ufology Voice stress analysis Water memory Promoters of pseudoscience Sucharit Bhakdi Del Bigtree Igor and Grichka Bogdanoff Brigitte Boisselier Rhonda Byrne Robert Charroux Deepak Chopra Clonaid Vernon Coleman Michael Crichton Ignatius L. Donnelly Gaia, Inc. Max Gerson Nicholas Gonzalez Goop (company) Graham Hancock David Icke William Donald Kelley Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Corentin Louis Kervran The Light (newspaper) Mike Lindell Jenny McCarthy Joseph Mercola Judy Mikovits Ministry of Ayush Theodor Morell Hans Alfred Nieper Semir Osmanagić Mehmet Oz Raël (Claude Vorilhon) Robby Starbuck Randolph Stone Paul Joseph Watson Andrew Wakefield Related topics Bogdanov affair Bourgeois pseudoscience Demarcation problem Scientific method Repression of science in the Soviet Union Resources Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Cults of Unreason An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science Fortean Times James Randi Educational Foundation Quackwatch Skeptical Inquirer The Demon-Haunted World The Natural History of Quackery The Psychology of the Occult The Ragged Edge of Science The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience The Skeptic's Dictionary

Authority control databases International GND Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pseudohistory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudohistory) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudohistory?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.