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Vanished Islands and Hidden Continents of the Pacific / Patrick D. Nunn.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Honolulu : University of Hawaii Press, [2008]Copyright date: ©2008Description: 1 online resource (288 p.) : 32 b&w illustrations, 31 mapsContent type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780824832193
  • 9780824865443
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 001.94 22
LOC classification:
  • DU18.5 .N86 2009eb
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction: A Personal Odyssey -- 2. The Earth's Dynamic Third: The Pacific Basin -- 3. Islands That Vanished Long Ago -- 4. Ancient Continents Hidden by Time -- 5. The Coming of Humans to the Pacific -- 6. Mythical Islands in Pacific Islander Traditions -- 7. Mythical Continents of the Pacific -- 8. Vanishing Islands: Processes of Island Disappearance Witnessed by Humans -- 9. Recently Vanished Islands in the Pacific -- 10. Vanished Islands of the Future -- 11. Vanished Islands and Hidden Continents in the World's Oceans: Last Thoughts -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Notes -- References -- Index
Summary: Islands-as well as entire continents-are reputed to have disappeared in many parts of the world. Yet there is little information on this subject concerning its largest ocean, the Pacific. Over the years, geologists have amassed data that point to the undeniable fact of islands having disappeared in the Pacific, a phenomenon that the oral traditions of many groups of Pacific Islanders also highlight. There are even a few instances where fragments of Pacific continents have disappeared, becoming hidden from view rather than being submerged. In this scientifically rigorous yet readily comprehensible account of the fascinating subject of vanished islands and hidden continents in the Pacific, the author ranges far and wide, from explanations of the region's ancient history to the meanings of island myths. Using both original and up-to-date information, he shows that there is real value in bringing together myths and the geological understanding of land movements.A description of the Pacific Basin and the "ups and downs" of the land within its vast ocean is followed by chapters explaining how-long before humans arrived in this part of the world-islands and continents that no longer exist were once present. A succinct account is given of human settlement of the region and the establishment of cultural contexts for the observation of occasional catastrophic earth-surface changes and their encryption in folklore. The author also addresses the persistent myths of a "sunken continent" in the Pacific, which became widespread after European arrival and were subsequently incorporated into new age and pseudoscience explanations of our planet and its inhabitants. Finally, he presents original data and research on island disappearances witnessed by humans, recorded in oral and written traditions, and judged by geoscience to be authentic. Examples are drawn from throughout the Pacific, showing that not only have islands collapsed, and even vanished, within the past few hundred years, but that they are also liable to do so in the future.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9780824865443

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Introduction: A Personal Odyssey -- 2. The Earth's Dynamic Third: The Pacific Basin -- 3. Islands That Vanished Long Ago -- 4. Ancient Continents Hidden by Time -- 5. The Coming of Humans to the Pacific -- 6. Mythical Islands in Pacific Islander Traditions -- 7. Mythical Continents of the Pacific -- 8. Vanishing Islands: Processes of Island Disappearance Witnessed by Humans -- 9. Recently Vanished Islands in the Pacific -- 10. Vanished Islands of the Future -- 11. Vanished Islands and Hidden Continents in the World's Oceans: Last Thoughts -- Appendix 1 -- Appendix 2 -- Notes -- References -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Islands-as well as entire continents-are reputed to have disappeared in many parts of the world. Yet there is little information on this subject concerning its largest ocean, the Pacific. Over the years, geologists have amassed data that point to the undeniable fact of islands having disappeared in the Pacific, a phenomenon that the oral traditions of many groups of Pacific Islanders also highlight. There are even a few instances where fragments of Pacific continents have disappeared, becoming hidden from view rather than being submerged. In this scientifically rigorous yet readily comprehensible account of the fascinating subject of vanished islands and hidden continents in the Pacific, the author ranges far and wide, from explanations of the region's ancient history to the meanings of island myths. Using both original and up-to-date information, he shows that there is real value in bringing together myths and the geological understanding of land movements.A description of the Pacific Basin and the "ups and downs" of the land within its vast ocean is followed by chapters explaining how-long before humans arrived in this part of the world-islands and continents that no longer exist were once present. A succinct account is given of human settlement of the region and the establishment of cultural contexts for the observation of occasional catastrophic earth-surface changes and their encryption in folklore. The author also addresses the persistent myths of a "sunken continent" in the Pacific, which became widespread after European arrival and were subsequently incorporated into new age and pseudoscience explanations of our planet and its inhabitants. Finally, he presents original data and research on island disappearances witnessed by humans, recorded in oral and written traditions, and judged by geoscience to be authentic. Examples are drawn from throughout the Pacific, showing that not only have islands collapsed, and even vanished, within the past few hundred years, but that they are also liable to do so in the future.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 02. Mrz 2022)