Every historian I talk to says that before the 1800s, people thought that children inherited characteristics from only their father. The belief was supposedly that the mother was only an "oven" and did not contribute characteristics to the child. However, I don't think people could have thought this, as there are so many obvious cases when a child inherits characteristics from their mother. Is this evidence that history is bunk and historians have little idea what they are talking about?
Apprehensive-Sir-495 t1_j9thcby wrote
Reply to Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator
Every historian I talk to says that before the 1800s, people thought that children inherited characteristics from only their father. The belief was supposedly that the mother was only an "oven" and did not contribute characteristics to the child. However, I don't think people could have thought this, as there are so many obvious cases when a child inherits characteristics from their mother. Is this evidence that history is bunk and historians have little idea what they are talking about?