Terence Meaden

The latest research on the 60 multiple-stone circles of Cork and Kerry in southwest Ireland is reported in detail. Stone circles forever fascinate with their simple eye-catching circularity but spotting the builders' input of specialized knowledge is often not straightforward because the symbolism can be subtle, a consequence of the builders' adroit stone selection or clever craftwork and stone positioning. Experienced researchers find that many specifically-functional stones have significant outlines and heights, while horizon elevations and in some instances landscape profiles like paps or peaks are factors too. Highly rewarding has been identifying the decisive role of alignments to the rising sun in which distinct pairs of contrasting gender-suggestive stones portend the dates of the eight traditional farming festivals of the year. Furthermore, meaningful shadows are cast by the sun between many of these stone pairs. The sun was regarded and revered as a deity for being the daily bearer of light and warmth after the darkness and coldness of night. Because solar worship was universal across Ireland and Britain, the monuments of Newgrange, Knowth, Loanhead of Daviot and Stonehenge are introduced for reasons of objective comparison. The author's interdisciplinary analysis made use of anthropology, ethnology and semiotics (the study of signs and symbols) besides the customary archaeology and practical archaeoastronomy.

This is a book on comets – visually stunning dirty space snowballs of mostly ice and dust that formed during the birth of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Most comets have stable orbits in the outer reaches of the solar system past the planet Neptune, or in the still-more remote Oort Cloud. But if destabilized by gravitational forces, they may move into the inner solar system – with some risk of collision with the Earth, and some justification for the dread, fear, and awe they have inspired in many different cultures and societies around the world and throughout time. The depiction of comets in popular culture is firmly rooted in the long Western tradition of seeing comets as harbingers of doom and as omens of world-altering change. Comets are thus horrifying and exhilarating, at the same time, with a profound impact on earthly societies and cultures. Comets and other celestials as fictional devices offer, as this collection of essays show, a tremendous opportunity to radically cut up the infectious wounds of our post-industrial society for close inspection and anamnesis. This volume contains fluid examples of how comets, suns, moons, planets all have contributed to creating speculative yet sensitized narratives about some of the most urgent existential, ontological and ecological matters in the modern world.Essays by Terence Meaden, Randall Stevenson, Eric Sandberg, David Rennie, Amanda Silfver, and Niklas Salmose.

This is the story of the Universe including life as we know it.It is a book of origins, prehistory and history ... arranged in Three Testaments to honour the supreme achievements of the talented men and women who have been unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos, evolution, human antiquity and world history. Composed in biblical-prose format, the volume presents the facts of science and, as best as possible, relevant truths of history. The scientific facts rest on proven principles gained by observation, instrumentation, insight, intelligence, reason, and the application of physical laws and the formulation of harmonious, logical models. In defining the latest wisdom, they spell out the fundamentals of the physics of the wonders of the Universe--regarding which ever more exact details are improving all the time.It is testimony and eulogy, in praise of high scholarship and logic--the ultimate Enlightenment. Testament 1 tells the story of the Universe, the Stars, the Solar System and Planet Earth. Testament 2 examines the Origins of Life on Earth. The Third Testament treats the story of humanity as it proceeds to the present day--humans enriched with intelligence and a genetically-promising future. Yet, despite the successes, the story concludes with an Epilogue contemplating "How did it come about that Homo sapiens in the course of 160,000 years manage to get itself into the current mess?"--referring to the amalgam of authoritative religions, undemocratic governments, reckless overpopulation and irresponsible worldwide waste on land and ocean.AUTHORSThe authors number millions--among them leading scientists who have been probing the mysteries of the Universe and the origins of life, unprejudiced archaeologists evaluating the evidence of prehistory, and ethical historians and erudite writers considering the chronicled records of past millennia. Between them, they report the triumphs, discoveries, events and disasters of humankind.Professor Dr Terence Meaden--retired physicist and active archaeologist from Oxford University--serves as editor and commentator. The result is a compendium of knowledge annotated with honourable intentions for the common good.Socrates: "There is only one good, Knowledge, and only one evil, Ignorance."Jacob Bronowski: Fear not insight; fear not science, for "science is only a Latin word for knowledge." 1973. The Ascent of Man."Through genius and the employment of mature theories, rational principles and the logic of mathematical physics comes enlightenment ... and the world of conscious knowledge is poised to advance." 2020. First Testament, Chapter 1, Verse 13, Page 6.Jacob Bronowski: "In every age there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world." 1973. Ascent of Man, Chapter 1.

This is the story of the Universe including life as we know it.It is a book of origins, prehistory and history ... arranged in Three Testaments to honour the supreme achievements of the talented men and women who have been unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos, evolution, human antiquity and world history. Composed in biblical-prose format, the volume presents the facts of science and, as best as possible, relevant truths of history. The scientific facts rest on proven principles gained by observation, instrumentation, insight, intelligence, reason, and the application of physical laws and the formulation of harmonious, logical models. In defining the latest wisdom, they spell out the fundamentals of the physics of the wonders of the Universe--regarding which ever more exact details are improving all the time.It is testimony and eulogy, in praise of high scholarship and logic--the ultimate Enlightenment. Testament 1 tells the story of the Universe, the Stars, the Solar System and Planet Earth. Testament 2 examines the Origins of Life on Earth. The Third Testament treats the story of humanity as it proceeds to the present day--humans enriched with intelligence and a genetically-promising future. Yet, despite the successes, the story concludes with an Epilogue contemplating "How did it come about that Homo sapiens in the course of 160,000 years manage to get itself into the current mess?"--referring to the amalgam of authoritative religions, undemocratic governments, reckless overpopulation and irresponsible worldwide waste on land and ocean.AUTHORSThe authors number millions--among them leading scientists who have been probing the mysteries of the Universe and the origins of life, unprejudiced archaeologists evaluating the evidence of prehistory, and ethical historians and erudite writers considering the chronicled records of past millennia. Between them, they report the triumphs, discoveries, events and disasters of humankind.Professor Dr Terence Meaden--retired physicist and active archaeologist from Oxford University--serves as editor and commentator. The result is a compendium of knowledge annotated with honourable intentions for the common good.Socrates: "There is only one good, Knowledge, and only one evil, Ignorance."Jacob Bronowski: Fear not insight; fear not science, for "science is only a Latin word for knowledge." 1973. The Ascent of Man."Through genius and the employment of mature theories, rational principles and the logic of mathematical physics comes enlightenment ... and the world of conscious knowledge is poised to advance." 2020. First Testament, Chapter 1, Verse 13, Page 6.Jacob Bronowski: "In every age there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world." 1973. Ascent of Man, Chapter 1.