Credit: Soren Thirslund
Credit: Soren Thirslund
Ancient man, contrary to some popular misconceptions, was not stupid...I find this to be a credible hypothesis.
Modernity has beget a bevy of ignorance and superstition—not necessarily “enlightenment” when it comes to knowledge and morality.
I think this theory has been around for some time.
I’m always amazed and often disappointed when I learn of scientific “types” finding artifacts from thousands of years ago. They speculate and postulate, and all along, they give the impression that they think our ancestors (or other civilizations) were too stupid to know how to do things.
It is to laugh. Most of the scientists today seem to cling to popular myths, and don’t bother trying to find out the truth of the past, and what mankind has been capable of for millenia.
Well dang, here’s me thinking all these years they would use Polaris to navigate at night......Dang :)
Here's a pretty complete run-down by my gemologist friend Elise Skalwold, who has deep Norwegian roots: VIKING SUNSTONE
navigation ping
Loki built one of these for Ragnar Lodbrok in season 1.
A small population from Scndinavia was vey successful for a few hundred years.
They invaded then merged in the British Isles. They conquered then merged into northern France. William the Conqueror who in 1066 took over England was a Viking descendant.
They went far into Russia and Asia, started the Kievan Rus culture, which is the basis for Russia that followed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kievan_Rus%27
They sailed into the Mediterranean, and made an empire from southern Italy to Turkey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_southern_Italy
They sailed to north America. You all know that story.
Few cultures can boast the influence achieved by such a small population. Today the Scandinavian countries’ population is less than 20 million. At home in the face of a hostile climate, they prosper as few others do.
Chinese and Greeks used lodestones for navigation 3,000 years ago- these guys are morons-,
Magnesia in Greece was famous for lodestones=
Homer`s “The Iliad”, describes the 12 points of the magnetic compass as 12 ancient greek cities that are located on the 12 points-
duhh gimme a break
bunchA MORONS\”schulars”
Archaeologists and anthropogists do not own boats.
That is my conclusion after 60 years of watching non sailors commenting on people and cultures who sailed continuously.
Free clue: Sailors sail. All the time. Whenever possible. 3 days on the sea is not death defying high adventure but merely a fun sail.
I remember reading something about a sunstone crystal being used in navigation in a NOVEL about the Vikings years ago.
What may be new here is the accessory in the picture.
intersting post.
saw something like this last year when the show the vikings first came on, in that ragnar has a sunstone. apparently its natural polarization ability allows you to see the sun and take a sun sight even in cloudy weather, that the vikings had such stones seems beyond question now. so this article makes further sense.
one thing i haven’t seen mentioned, at night, if you can see the stars its relatively simple matter to see which way north is and how far north or south you are. well into the middle ages and beyond the standard method of traversing the sea was to sail north or south to your target latitude, and then run along that east or west longitude until you hit your target.
it was not until the invention of the ship gong clock that it changed and you could use a sun site to tell where you were east or west.
