METEOKITES AND THEIR METALLIC CONSTITUENTS 



By 



E. P. Henderson 

 Associate Curator, Division of Mineralogy and Petrology, U. S. National Museum 



and 



Stuart H. Perry 



Associate in Mineralogy, U. S. National Museum 



[With 6 plates] 

 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 



Meteorites arc those portions of meteors which survive a passage 

 through space and through our atmosphere and actually reach the sur- 

 face of the earth. Of the countless number of meteors that enter the 

 atmosphere only a very few of any size make a successful landing upon 

 our earth. In this short review it will be shown that the air we breathe 

 serves also as a shelter from meteoritic bombing. 



Historically speaking, only comparatively recently has the mind 

 of man accepted the fact that pieces of stone or metal could fall from 

 the sky. This is all the more interesting when we observe how fre- 

 quently references to the fall of a meteorite appear in old legends and 

 records. In general the early descriptions are about as accurate as the 

 ones reported to us today. An all-inclusive review of these old records 

 will not be attempted, but a few will bo cited to show not only their 

 antiquity, but also the importance people have attached to these celes- 

 tial objects, Man has been emotionally stimulated by seeing them 

 fall and by reflecting on their origin, as well as being physically served 

 by making practical use of them. 



Many a meteorite has been reverently treasured by primitive peoples. 

 We read of them being buried as sacred objects, worshiped as idols, 

 even hammered into weapons and useful tools. Early explorers re- 

 ported the use of objects made of iron by people who had no commerce 

 with the outside world, as well as by people who were unfamiliar with 

 methods of reducing iron from any of its ores. Many of these objects 

 have been studied and found to be made of meteoritic iron. 



Mythology has numerous old heroes who claimed to have had swords 

 that had fallen from heaven. A dagger found at the site of Troy 

 (Hissarlik) was reported by Dr. Schliemann to be a fragment of a 



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