|
|
Encyclopedia entry: beginnings of geological thought
- Article from:
- The Oxford Companion to the Earth
- Author:
Copyright© The Oxford Companion to the Earth 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information)
|
beginnings of geological thought
Many ancient peoples had models of the Earth and its place in the Universe. To the ancient Babylonians the Earth was a hollow mountain supported and surrounded by the ocean. The realm of the dead lay beneath the ground: the Sun, Moon and stars all moved across a solid canopy above. To the ancient Egyptians a quartet of deities was responsible for the universe: Keb was a reclining god, the earth, covered with vegetation; the skies were a gracefully bent goddess supported by the god of the air; and the sun god sailed across the heavens into the night and death. A Hindu version was that the Earth was held up by four elephants standing on a giant tortoise, ...