Primary evidence and datasets first
Excavation reports, dated sequences, biomolecular results and measured records set the floor. Summaries and commentary are read against them, never in place of them.
Evidence policy
What SCRIBE will publish, and on what basis
These standards apply to every documentary and written investigation, without exception for a better story.
The grading ladder
Four grades, applied consistently
A · Established
Directly established by dated archaeological, biomolecular or palaeoenvironmental evidence.
B · Strongly supported or qualified
Strongly supported, but any material qualification or boundary remains attached to the claim.
C · Plausible, contested or emerging
Plausible, contested or emerging. Consistent with some evidence, but not established by the current record.
D · Rejected
Unsupported or contradicted claim. Discussed only as a rejected hypothesis, never as a possibility.
Unresolved
Current evidence cannot decide. Unresolved is a limit on the verdict, not evidence for an extraordinary explanation.
Standards
How an investigation is built
Peer-reviewed research and official institutions next
Where primary data is not directly accessible, SCRIBE relies on peer-reviewed publications and recognised institutional records, cited with a DOI wherever one exists.
Every claim graded A to D
Claims are written out and graded before the script exists. The grade travels with the claim so a strong inference is never dressed as a finding.
Sources retained and traceable
Each investigation keeps a controlled source register. Public pages list peer-reviewed material; internal control documents govern synthesis and rights only.
Uncertainty and contradictions shown
Where specialists disagree, or the sample is too small to carry the conclusion, the page says so in the same voice as the rest of the text.
Corrections and review dates
Every investigation shows when it was last reviewed. After launch, substantive corrections will be recorded with dated notes.
Synthetic-media disclosure
Visual material is drawn, schematic or generated illustration and is labelled as such. Illustration is never presented as documentary evidence.
Human approval before public release
AI tooling may support production. A person reviews and approves the written investigation and the film before either becomes public.
Evidence boundaries
What uncertainty does — and does not — mean
- Unusual ideas are not rejected merely because they are unusual.
- Unresolved does not imply extraordinary.
- Repeated reporting does not equal independent evidence.
- Testimony may be sincere without proving the proposed cause.
- Consensus is evaluated through the evidence supporting it.
- SCRIBE Working Hypotheses remain separate from evidence verdicts.
- Corrections and previous positions remain visible rather than being silently rewritten.
Limits
What SCRIBE will not do
- Manufacture certainty the record does not support.
- Convert similarity between places or practices into an empire.
- Present illustration as evidence.
- Hide material contradictions because they complicate the story.
The ladder in practice can be read in the SCR-003 evidence section.