Krakatau version 1.0, Part
1
Published: 11/03/2003
It seems that
catastrophism as an
potential agency of change throughout human history keeps cropping up.
While I had not intended to make disasters and such the major focus of
this site, it can't be avoided. There's too much evidence mounting that
human cultures have been affected in a meaningful manner by these
events.
Crosschecking
between the ice core samples of GISP2 and other such efforts that have
taken place in Antarctica, the date of
the volcanic eruption at Thera was pinpointed as
having taken place in 1627 BCE. Further evidence such as the known climate
patterns of the Aegean over millenia matched against the ashfall tells us that the eruption happened in the
autumn of that year.
And finally,
from another scientific discipline known as dendochronology we have a confirmination that shows a climactic change took
place in the aftermath of the eruption at around the same time.
(In case you
aren't familiar with dendochronology, this is
the study of past climate changes through the examination of tree rings.
Bristlecone pines are a favorite as they can provide up to 5,000 years
worth of data.)
Without such
tools at our disposal we would have to rely on the cultural memories of
the Theran eruption that were recorded in Exodus
(Judaic), the Theogeny (Greek)and the
Admonitions of Ipuwer (Egyptian)- and in this
case no connection had been made until after the physical data above had
been determined. The Theogeny was a fable, Ipuwer's account was thought to refer to the collapse
of the Old Kingdom, and Exodus.... was
Exodus.
Archeologists
were not pleased with the use of other disciplines to date events. The
controversy still continues. But the historical events of humanity take
place within the context of our environment, and it can't be denied.
Are there any
other volcanic eruptions that caused similar distress in recorded history?
Or could there have been an even worse one?
Michael Baillie
of Queens University, Belfast Ireland has done the most work
on tree rings and their use in dating ancient events. Within the last
5,000 years he found five major environmental events that were global in
reach. The periods were 2354 - 2345 BC, the now familiar 1628 - 1623 BC,
1159 - 1141 BC, 208 - 204 BC, and AD 536 - 545.
Looking back to
536 AD we discover written accounts that are more in tune with our
perception of the natural world as we perceive it. No longer do we have
clashes between Titans and Gods. Instead we have these descriptions:
"The
Sun...seems to have lost its wonted light, and
appears of a bluish colour. We marvel to see no
shadows of our bodies at noon, to feel the mighty vigour of the Sun's heat wasted into feebleness, and
the phenomena which accompany an eclipse prolonged through almost a whole
year. We have had a summer without heat. The crops have been chilled by
north winds, [and] the rain is denied."
Flavius Cassiodorus
or:
"The
Sun became dark and its darkness lasted for eighteen months. Each day it
shone for about four hours, and still this light was only a feeble
shadow...the fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour
grapes."
Michael the
Syrian
There are other
accounts from Procopius and Lydus. And from the Chinese records we have this
comment:
"the stars were lost from view for three
months...'yellow dust rained down like snow.”
What
happened?
In the 1990's
British astronomers came to their conclusions as to what happened:
"The
perspective is evidently one in which we expect the Roman Empire to have
gone into decline owing to multiple-Tunguska bombardment causing great
tracts of land to be deserted and whole communities or nations to be
suddenly dislocated. Of necessity,the period becomes one of barbaric
movements."
(Southern Sky
magazine, January/February 1995), Clube and
David Asher
The theory
sounds promising, but the evidence for something else happening is far
greater, we don't have to look to the heavens for an explanation.
The "yellow dust
rained down like snow" appears in the ice-core samples from GISP2 and
Antarctica as sulphuric acid peaks. This kind of fallout can be
directly linked to volcanic eruptions.
The culprit
is a familiar one to Westerners. In 1883, the most famous eruption of
modern times took place at the incorrectly translated island of
Krakatoa. But the original
eruption in question was supposed to have happened in 471 AD. But both the
ice core samples and tree rings do NOT indicate any signs of an eruption
in 471 AD. The first eruption of Krakatau, like Thera was misdated.
According to
recent geological surveys, the underwater caldera left by this eruption
measures a mindboggling 30 miles in diameter.
Thera and Tambora
together weren't equal to this monstrosity.
Something I have
not done yet is examine the mythology of
Indonesia and Java. These were
the regions directly affected by this eruption.
But how did an
eruption of this magnitude effect the rest of the
world? Next week we'll look at the archaeological and scientific evidence
with the work of by British historian, David Keys as our primary
source.
last
revised: November 03, 2003
