ancient tale to explain natural phenomena

One of these potentials is to improve the scientist-population communication, leading to a more integrated perception of the geodiversity and biodiversity relevance as natural and cultural heritage, fostering an active role of the public in geoconservation approaches. These new fields can successfully assist in protecting geoheritage from a broader array of hazards.

We propose them as fundamental tools for innovative geoconservation strategies, since their integrated application provides a new pathway to achieve a holistic nature conservation, especially when combined with other areas as cultural paleontology and geomythology. We formally define here cultural geology, cultural biology, and cultural taxonomy, as emerging scientific fields focused on assessing the impact of natural sciences and natural features in the culture. Nature conservation largely focuses on biological assets, treating geodiversity as a minor concern. This trend generate a misleading impression that scientific interpretation is better, superior to other supposedly inferior ways to interpret the world, such as the traditional knowledges (Masse et al. He also opposes this trend in science that interpreted tales as mere fantasies (not being worth of scientific attention), neglecting their potential to provide valuable historical (and cultural) interpretations of reality (Masse et al. In his work about Mapinguari and the Brazilian natives Karitiana (who believe this creature exists), Velden (2016) states 'the interpretations which treat Mapinguari on one hand as a legend, belief, myth (according to common sense) or folk tale, or on the other hand, as evidence for a scientific hypothesis, they both violate the ontological status of this being for Karitiana, overlooking and denying the experiential reality inhabited by these people, when exposes it as folkloric, false, literary, or superstitious, or reducing it to a misguided expression of an object of knowledge (…)' (our translation). Although recognizing the extreme complexity of myth as a cultural product, our data indicate that a science-based natural history approach can lead to important insights regarding the nature of myth. We then explore the cognitive structure of myth and provide working principles about how the historical information contained in these myths can be transmitted faithfully through successive generations and can be elicited by scientific study.

To set the stage for our examination of the possible natural history core of myth, we discuss briefly the history of the western scientific study of myth, with an emphasis on geological sciences. This paradox may hinder our understanding of the origins of myth and prevent us from fully appreciating a critical aspect of why myth was so highly valued by past cultures.

Although virtually all scholars recognize that myth was of critical importance for traditional cultures, the attempt to elicit scientific reasons for this importance has led to many competing theories, few of which place an emphasis on the validity of myths as representing the product of actual observed historical natural events. The scientific study of myth is dominated by a paradigm that recognizes myth as having been viewed as truthful narrative history by past traditional cultures and yet is considered false or otherwise suspect by the modern scholars who study myth.

Ancient tale to explain natural phenomena