Our Sources

The kinds of sources we rely on, and the ones we avoid.

What we cite

• University and museum publications, and academic archaeology/astronomy/history departments
• UNESCO, national heritage bodies, and official excavation reports
• Peer-reviewed journals and reputable science and history outlets
• Britannica, the Smithsonian, and comparable tertiary references for established facts

What we treat with caution

• Enthusiast blogs and forums — useful for leads, not as load-bearing citations
• Preprints — cited only when labeled as not-yet-peer-reviewed
• Sensational or single-source claims — flagged as unverified or labeled as legend