READ ACCOUNTS LIKE DETECTIVE STORIES

"SHE HAD BEEN TRAINED 

TO LOOK FOR ANAMOLIES"

-- The silence of the lambs,
crime novel by Thomas Harris

Figuring out the past means acting like a detective,
pondering what seems odd. 

Clues can be customs or events that seem irrational 
 or tangible elements, 
like a painting placed too high for viewing, 
  places too vast for traffic, 
 a king replacing Jesus... 

Street art, Belleville

A detective, shadows, a clue...

...or they jump out from

the narratives of historians and explorers... 

A library's history shelves

Map at the Paris Mission Center ("Procure des Missions")

...although they are buried in data. 

*     *     *  

Next,
Were -- are? -- economic motivations recognized?