236 ANISTTJAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1942 



meteorite. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah may have been 

 due to the impact of a falling meteorite ; other explanations have been 

 offered, but the meteoritic impact theory is as logical as any suggested. 

 In Joshua X: 11 we read of great stones that fell from heaven on the 

 Amorites in the battle at Gibeon. Again, in the 18th Psalm, we read : 

 "The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his 

 voice ; hail-stones and coals of fire." 



In Acts XIX: 24, there are accounts of "a certain man named 

 Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought 

 no small gain unto the craftsmen." Farther along in the same chapter, 

 35th verse, "Ye men of Esphesus, what man is there that knoweth not 

 how that the city of the Esphesians is a worshipper of the great god- 

 dess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter?" 



Wlien the Casas Grandes meteorite was found in Mexico, it was 

 wrapped in mummy cloth, indicating probably that the people treated 

 this object with the same respect that would be paid to one of their 

 rulers. Prof. F. W. Putnam described some meteorites from south- 

 western Ohio that were found buried in an altar in association with the 

 most precious objects of the mound builders. 



At the time of Cortez' ^ conquest of Mexico, it was noted that only 

 the mest distinguished Aztecs had daggers and knives made of iron, 

 a metal more highly prized than gold. The invading Spaniards re- 

 ported no smelting furnaces for the reduction of iron, and when 

 inquiry was made of a native as to the source of this iron, he would 

 invariably point to the sky. Cortez and his followers certainly never 

 guessed that the iron used by the Aztecs was of meteoritic origin. 



The Descubridora meteorite from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, an 

 iron mass of over 1,000 pounds, contained a copper chisel embedded 

 in one of the fractures, indicating that Neolithic man was attempting 

 to obtain and use this iron. 



The famous "black stone" forming part of the wall of the Kaaba at 

 Mecca, ancient religious center of the Arabs, is doubtless a meteorite. 

 Only such an object, appearing miraculously from the slcy, could 

 have made such a profound impression as to become sacred. 



Important events in the lives of the people are recorded on their 

 coins. Many of the early Greek and Eoman coins bear representa- 

 tions of meteorites. It has been reported that the metal from meteor- 

 ites has even been used as a medium of exchange. 



In 1812, when Napoleon was engaged in the battle of Borodino 

 against the Russians, a stony meteorite was seen to fall not far from 

 the Russian general. Napoleon won this battle, but lost the cam- 

 paign against Russia. By a very narrow margin this meteorite 

 missed being a celebrated historic specimen, for had the Russian 



> Hensoldt, H., Meteorites and what they teach us. Amer. Geologist (Minnesota), vol. 

 4, 1889. 



