Clivedurdle

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925512/posts

I was wondering if a meteor strike might have had anything to do with the rise of Islam - they do "venerate" probably a bit of molten glass from a meteor hit - when I came across above explanation for the noah myth.

Anyone know anything else about it?

cgordon

Also here in the Telegraph.

Here's the journal Meteoritics And Planetary Science.

And a pic:

David B

This might be relevant. Evidence of tree ring anomoly in same time period.

http://www.zetatalk.com/theword/tword04n.htm

An event causing a tree ring anomoly would have effects on society, whether meteoric in origin or otherwise.

But perhaps we have a smoking gun here. Hekla seems perhaps the more likely candidate, though.

David B

Buster Daily

I don't think genuine cataclysms are required for flood myths to evolve. The fertile crescent was an area where seasonally the rivers would swell outside their banks and flash flood across the sun baked flood planes and encroach on the local inhabitants that relied on the river as a source of life. Flooding was part of life. Some years had bigger floods and some had almost none. Just like when my dad talks about the year that the snow was over the rooftop or the year when they shot 50 rabbits a day, I can imagine the old timers of the day talking about the time when the floods covered all of the land. The story would be passed on and embellished, each time unchecked. At some point the story tellers would realize that they were in tall tale territory and invent plausible explanations for the anomalous event that they were sure were true. Some guy moving stranded livestock on a makeshift raft becomes an ark story.

With all of that said, I don't discount a connection between cataclysm and myth. I don't think it's required nor necessarily the most likely explanation. It DOES on occasion sell a book.