They do for some things. In many places whenever you transfer ownership of real estate, you submit a piece of paper that says "I am transferring ownership of X to Y" to a clerk/recorder/registrar. People can then go and search their database of transactions to verify that yes, someone did grant you ownership of X previously, and that that someone granted ownership beforehand, etc. (this research is usually done by a title company, who then provides insurance on their claim).