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Just wondering if anyone has a clear answer...
Nope. That's why we have endless discussions on the same things over and again.
It might not be any fun if we all had perfect evidence of every aspect of pre-digital life, but we don't and we won't, ever. Best you can do is read and discuss and decide for yourself, remembering that no matter what you decide, there will be those of differing opinions and you may not be able to prove them wrong-or yourself right. And that's
oh kay.
Keep an open mind as you might want to change it later on.