[meteorite-list] Seven plagues and killer meteorites

[E.P. Grondine]

Darren - 

"unsubstantiated, fringe pseudoscience (which 
if it finds a REAL impact it will be like a blind
squirrel finding a nut) and then pass it along in
other writings or tell it to people, who then pass it 
around..."

Your points about the difficulties in working with
myth materials are well taken.  That is why I
generally didn't bother with them, particuarly in the
cases where contemporary written accounts existed,
along with physical evidence.  Then myths may be
examined for both their formation and transmission
mechanisms, and/or they may cautiously be used to try
to throw additional light on proto-historical periods.

However, in the Americas one encounters a different
situation.  Native American oral "traditions" had
somewhat different transimission mechanisms than those
for myths in Europe and the ancient Near East.  Even
given this, any understandings of them must be checked
against the archaeological, geological, and
paleo-climate records.

The reason why my "psuedo-science" is passed around by
many is because they have examined it and found it to
be about as rigorous as possible given the
difficulties involved in doing this kind of work.

In the end, one thing is certain: If you do not hunt,
you will find nothing.

good hunting,
E.P. Grondine
Man and Impact in the Americas  

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Seven Plagues and Killer
Meteorites
To: "meteoritelist"
<Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Message-ID:
<bkbb739hq9a5os9l1u9l4flc4tglrc7qqd at 4ax.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

On Sun, 17 Jun 2007 16:33:29 -0400, you wrote:

> That isn't why we are here. We are here for
meteorites, not mightbe's 
and 
>myths or annual events that did plague the Nile until
recent history. 
If you 

I agree.  But the reson I brought it up was the
constant assertions 
that EP guy
"knows" about all these past comet and meteorite
strikes on the Earth 
because
of-- believing fairy tales of Native American tribes. 
And if some 
people read
the list and believe his unsubstantiated, fringe
pseudoscience (which 
if it
finds a REAL impact it will be like a blind squirrel
finding a nut) and 
then
pass it along in other writings or tell it to people,
who then pass it 
around...
that unsubstantiated story suddenly becomes yet
another piece of false 
meteorite
lore "known to be true" by the public.  In other
words, just like the 
rest of
oral and written history works.

>cannot accept that, then meteorites aren't real
either and maybe you 
should 
>leave. I mean, really now, have you seen a rock
strike the earth that 
was 
>from space with your own eyes?

I can believe that a meteorite is real because I can
LOOK at it, TOUCH 
it, see
the results of testing on it.  What I would have
question is claims 
like: it was
red hot when it landed, it did loopty-loops in the air
before it 
landed, that
the finder was told by God that he would find a
meteorite (as some guy 
in
Australia a while back claimed), that it was an omen
of suchity-such, 
that it
made a dog turn to dust when it landed, etc, etc.


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