Thesis (Ph. D.)--Eberhard-Karls-Universität zu Tübingen, 1939. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. xii-xviii).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Eberhard-Karls-Universität zu Tübingen, 1939. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. xii-xviii).

Natural phenomena and natural disasters occur across the regions of the United States. While science now provides factual documentation for causes of meteorological and geological events, most Native American tribes lacked scientific explanations of these occurrences. Native Americans, however, sought to explain the effects and often devastation resulting from meteorological and geological events in some manner. The religions and mythologies of many cultures provide explanations for the occurrence of natural phenomena through supernatural intervention. The presentation of myths by geographic region provided the basis for analysis of explanations for natural phenomena. Regional analysis of myths suggests that commonalities exist among Native American Groups experiencing similar meteorological and geological events. Furthermore, common themes span across regional boundaries. For example, the use of a Thunderbird, a large bird with glowing eyes, as an explanation for the occurrence of thunder and storms occurs in every region of the United States. Another common theme is the use of a storm by a supernatural force as punishment for unacceptable behaviors of the earth's inhabitants. The most frequent example of this is the theme of a flood that destroys many inhabitants at some point in the history of the tribe. Often, storms and other natural phenomena have explanations based in the creation myth of the tribe. Another theme in myths regarding natural phenomena is the resolution of opposing forces. In many myths, the opposition exists between humans and nature, weather beings or spirits, or animals and nature. Myths regarding natural phenomena occasionally contain the attempt by humans or animals to gain control over nature or natural elements. The results of this control vary from favorable to unfavorable for those involved. A final theme exhibited in many myths is the function of a supernatural force associated with weather as a guardian, protector, and provider. The belief in these guardians provides Native Americans with assurance that they will be protected, and provided for, especially in times of natural disasters or storms. Research indicates that compilation of myths regarding natural phenomena facilitates regional and cross-cultural analysis and understanding of the role of supernatural intervention in Native American comprehension of natural phenomena. / Department of Anthropology

This thesis offers a new contextualisation of weather signs, naturally occurring terrestrial indicators of weather change (from, for example, animals, plants and atmospheric phenomena), in antiquity. It asks how the utility of this method of prediction was perceived and presented in ancient sources and studies the range of answers given across almost eight hundred years of Greek and Roman civilisation. The presentation of weather signs is compared throughout to that of another predictive method, astrometeorology, which uses the movement of the stars as markers of approaching weather. The first chapter deals with the presentation and discussion of weather signs in a range of Greek texts. It sees hesitant trust being placed in weather signs, lists of which were constructed so as to be underpinned by astronomical knowledge. The second chapter assesses how these Greek lists were received and assimilated into Roman intellectual discourse by looking to the strikingly similar practice of divining by portents. This lays the foundations for the final chapter, which describes and explains the Roman treatment of weather signs. Here, the perceived utility of weather signs can be seen to reduce rapidly as the cultural significance of astronomy reaches new heights. This thesis provides new readings and interpretations of a range of weather-based passages and texts, from the Pseudo-Theophrastan De Signis, to Lucan's Pharsalia, to Pliny's Natural History, many of which have previously been greatly understudied or oversimplified. It allows us to understand the social and scientific place of weather prediction in the ancient world and therefore how abstract and elaborate ideas and theories filtered in to the seemingly commonplace and everyday. I argue that between the 7th century BC and the end of the 1st century AD, the treatment of weather signs changes from being framed in fundamentally practical terms to one in which practical considerations were negligible or absent. As this occurred, astrometeorology comes to be seen as the only predictive method worthy of detailed attention. These two processes, I suggest, were linked.