Ancient tales from long ago range from mythical tales of a great flood in the Xia Dynasty 1900s BCE to
the tales of a great earthquake during the existence of Alexandria 365 CE. Many of these ancient tales
are told through stories passed down for generations, while others are painted and scripted into history
leaving much to the imagination. These stories however, paint a bigger picture, a picture that scientists
today can support and make a firm argument regarding the correlation between these tales and real
events caused by natural disasters. David Montgomery’s article, “Emperor Yu’s Great Flood” shows us a
perfect example of this through tales of the Xia dynasty and the ability of scientists today to help prove
its validity. The ancient tale reveals the story of an Emperor Yu made famous for his efforts in controlling
a great flood. However, as Montgomery mentions through his article, efforts have been made despite a
lack of geological evidence to prove that this tale can validated. Montgomery notes that through dating
and mapping of sediment deposits authors have been able to show the prospect for a great flood. The
authors have been able to connect the data from their dating and mapping to overlap in timing with the
believed avulsion of the yellow river through China. While tales of these events can seemingly lose value
over time, the value of data and research paired with the correlation to other events can give us
scientific validation for the existence of these events. Another way of showing this comes from the
textbook “Foundations of Earths Science” on page 146. Alfred Wagner’s methods for supporting his
hypothesis of the continental drift directly relates to the methods previously mentioned in David
Montgomery’s article “Emperor Yu’s Great Flood”. Wagner’s continental drift hypothesis seeks to prove
the separation of what was once Pangea or one supercontinent. He was able to support his theory by
showing the fit of the continental shorelines of the continents, similarities in fossils, and the
relationships between mountain ranges across continents. While scientists don’t guarantee or agree
with everything in Wagner’s hypothesis it is recognized that his method for supporting his theory is
relevant to validating past events in our history.
Another great example of this method is revealed by Daryl Worthington in his article “The
Eastern Mediterranean”. It has been thought that one of the greatest historic earthquakes occurred
during the reign of Alexandria 365 CE. Writings and tales tell us of ships being carried miles inland as the