Description
Book SynopsisWhy were Prometheus and Loki envisioned as chained to rocks? What was the Golden Calf? Why are mirrors believed to carry bad luck? This book shows that myths originally transmitted real information about real events and observations, preserving the information sometimes for millennia within nonliterate societies.
Trade Review"The authors provide not only a compelling and highly readable collection of mythic interpretations but also a framework through which to decode those stories and uncover seismic, geological, astrological, or other natural events that preceded written history... When They Severed Earth from Sky provides an intellectually challenging and parsimonious new framework. It not only sheds light on the planet's natural history but also offers alluring insights about human cognition."--Abigail A. Baird, Science "In their highly engaging, thoroughly researched analysis of the meaning of myths, When They Severed Earth from Sky, [the authors] build a strong case that historical facts can be extracted from the mists of our mythic past... I think the Barbers are on to something here. Any student of myths ignores this important work at his or her peril."--Michael Shermer, American Scientist "The Barbers take us back some 100,000 years to the beginning of storytelling... When They Severed Earth from Sky is timely and engaging."--Books in Canada
Table of Contents*FrontMatter, pg. i*CONTENTS, pg. ix*ILLUSTRATIONS, pg. xi*Acknowledgments, pg. xvii*1 Time Capsules, pg. 1*2 The Memory Crunch: How Long a Pipeline?, pg. 5*3 The Silence Principle: Of Lethe and the Golden Calf, pg. 17*4 More Silence: Movie Reels from Snapshots, pg. 26*5 Analogy: Our Brain's Best Talent, pg. 34*6 Willfulness: The Atom or Thou, pg. 41*7 Multiple Aspects: The More the Merrier, pg. 53*8 Multiple Viewpoints: Ear,Trunk, or Tail, pg. 71*9 Views through Biased Lenses, pg. 89*10 Metaphoric Reality: Magic and Dreams (or Hu's on First), pg. 96*11 Compression: Methuselah and the Eponymous Heroes, pg. 113*12 Post Hocus Ergo Pocus: Space Aliens Mutilate Cows!, pg. 129*13 Restructuring: New Patterns for Old, pg. 139*14 Mnemonics: Behind the Silliness, pg. 153*15 The Spirit World: A Realm Reversed, pg. 162*16 Of Sky and Time, pg. 176*17 Prometheus, pg. 218*18 Fire-Breathing Dragons, pg. 231*APPENDIX. Index of Myth Principles, pg. 245*BIBLIOGRAPHY, pg. 253*INDEX, pg. 265
