15.10 When Documents Lie

DNA is a resource researchers turn to when documents and records do not make sense. A record is only as good as the source of the information, and people will lie to protect themselves and their narrative. Because people lie, documents lie. Some adoptees have mourned over state-sponsored lies in the form of birth certificates created long after the fact that list adoptive parents as birth parents. While some places have laws allowing adult adoptees to obtain their original birth certificates, others refuse adoptees that right and insist on sticking to certified documents with misleading information. Researchers should be aware that, while they accept information from documents, no record is above questioning, and historians should always be open to an unexpected reality. By staying curious and open, researchers will be able to find more accurate information and not overlook important details because of a bias. Curiosity and openness allow researchers to consider that what they think they know through documents may not be the absolute truth.