A number of explanations can be suggested for this absence of ancient meteorites. In the geologic past, meteorite falls may not have occurred as often as they do today. For example, the primeval atmosphere of the earth may have been so much denser than at present that even quite large meteorites were totally vaporized as they passed through it and therefore never reached the ground. Again, even if the rate of infall of meteorites was the same in the remote past as now, still various weathering processes active ever since the earliest meteorites fell may have so changed them in appearance and composition that they are no longer recognizable for what they are.
Several unusual lumps of rock from England and a mass of iron from Austria, all found at some depth by coal miners, have been tentatively put forward as “fossil” meteorites. But studies of these masses have so far produced no conclusive results. Still, we should not ignore the possibility that someday meteorites may be found and identified in rocks of considerable age.
L. J. SPENCER PHOTO COURTESY OF AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Mysterious glass objects found in the Libyan Desert. (right) Cut and polished specimens.
Does it seem as if we have posed more problems than we have solved in this chapter? It is very true that we have done just that. In speaking briefly about the tektites, the impactites, and the absence of “fossil” meteorites, we have by no means tried to present the last word on the troublesome but highly interesting problems connected with these objects—problems that admittedly may take scientists years or even decades of further research to solve. Perhaps you will find here the kind of unusual and thought-provoking problems that make the study of meteorites a rather special challenge. If so, you may wish to take an active part someday in unraveling these puzzles.
11. OMENS AND FANTASIES
Men seem to have always taken an interest in meteorites, but not until the early nineteenth century were these objects considered to be worth preserving for scientific study.
In the beginning, people believed that because meteorites fell from the heavens, they were either gods themselves or messengers from the gods. The more civilized of early men therefore carefully kept the fallen meteorites. They draped them in costly linens and anointed them with oil. In many instances, the people built special temples in which meteorites were actually worshipped. Some of the holy stones of the ancients, such as the Diana of the Ephesians, mentioned in the Bible as “the image which fell down from Jupiter,”[9] are now thought to have been meteorites.
Meteorite worship was common long ago in the Mediterranean area and in Africa, India, Japan, and Mexico. This practice still persists in some regions even in modern times. The Black Stone of the Kaaba, for example, has been sacred to all Mohammedans from about 700 A.D. right up to the present. It is said to be a meteorite although this fact has never been verified, because strict religious taboos connected with the stone prevent any scientific examination or study of it. On the contrary, the Andhâra, India, meteorite is known to be a genuine one. The story of the fall and preservation of this meteorite provides a fairly modern example of practices rooted in the ritual and custom of far more ancient times.
At about 4:00 in the afternoon of December 2, 1880, the people of Andhâra heard a noise like that made by a gun. Some of the villagers saw a “dark ball” come to earth in a field near them. This falling object sent up a small cloud of dust as it struck the ground. After the stone had been recovered from the field and the dust had been washed from its surface, two Brahmin priests took charge of it and began to collect money for the erection of a temple in which the holy object could be properly displayed.