Introduction 7
massive amounts of data, a very small percentage of which has been pub-
lished adequately. Still, certain results in this regard can be seen, for instance,
in the research of S. Pletneva, I. Baranov, V. Petrukhin and T. Noonan. Overall,
however, science is dominated by theories, built mostly on the basis of writ-
ten records. In this regard, attention should also be drawn to another issue,
related to the overlaying of various hypotheses. As a result, a theory, which in
itself is hard to prove, begins to be used as an indisputable fact. A new theory
is built on its basis, which in turn also begins to be seen as something already
established, although it could not possibly exist without the previous theory it
has been built on. “In the end, the same thing happened as in quite a few other
instances throughout the history of science: by frequent repetition, the unsup-
ported assumptions began to be perceived as indisputable truths”.31
31 Khazanov 1975, 124.