A century of belief in a lie does not make it the truth. Come now, faldage: that's a straw-man argument.

No one suggested that the "general belief" is automatically true. But the betting is that way, and one who would refute that belief has a heavy burden of proof -- particularly if the general belief has survived the test of serious scholarship.

Old notions can be crackpot -- but new notions can be crackpot too, and often are.

As to the specific case, see post below.