a time thought to have had a paucity of  cultural and scientific achievements,  

particularly when compared to  the periods before and after it.

The term came about partly due to the  perceived lack of written records,  

documents, and literary works from the time, which  created significant gaps in the historical record.

The argument that the scarcity of  written records implies a regression  

or stagnation in culture and science is  an example of the argument from silence.

This line of reasoning assumes  that if something is not recorded,  

it did not happen, which is a logical fallacy.

However, archaeological evidence and more recent  historical analyses have challenged this view,  

indicating that while written documentation  might be lacking, there were indeed regions  

and periods of progress and development  during what has been termed the Dark Ages.