helped develop the field of archaeoastronomy and is widely considered one of the founders of Mesoamerican archaeoastronomy. He is the author of Star Stories: Constellations and People and In the Shadow of the Moon: The Science, Magic, and Mystery of Solar Eclipses.
Aveni applied the “Page 99 Test” to his new book, Creation Stories: Landscapes and the Human Imagination, and reported the following:
On page 99 of Creation Stories readers find are immersed in the exciting tale of Tlingit origins. Raven, the traveling transformer, is the hero- trickster who performs magical feats as he paddles his canoe along the northwest Pacific coast of a yet unformed world. He has just befriended Kan’ugu, guardian of sweet water, who greedily hoards his treasure in a tank in the middle of his house, doling it out sparingly to the coastal inhabitants. Kan’ugu invites him to live with him and perform some household chores. One day, while his host is napping, Raven collects a bit of animal excrement and smears it on Kan’ugu’s robe. “Brother, you have soiled yourself”, he exclaims. You must run off to the woods and wash yourself with fresh urine or you will have bad luck for the rest of your life. Meanwhile Raven dashes back to the house, pierces the tank and drinks all the sweet water his belly can hold, with the intent of bringing it back to the coastal people. (You’ll need to turn the page to find out what happens next.)Visit Anthony Aveni's website.
Creation Stories examines ways cultures around the world have attempted to explain their origins and what roles the natural environment plays in shaping these narratives. I intend it as a celebration of the human imagination. Nature’s varied backdrops comprise sections of the book: Mountains (including chapters on Creation Battles in the Inca Highlands and Power Politics on Mount Olympus); Waterways (Tlingit Origins and The Mande and the River Niger); Caves (An Underworld Battle and the Maya Dawn of Life and A Dreamtime Creation from South Australia): Islands(How Maui Dredged Up the Hawaiian Islands and a Shinto Story: How Our Islands Were Made), and Extremes (Norse Creation: Murder on Ice and Tierra del Fuego: Where the Seas Clash).
Creation stories, well told, are not mere myths waiting for science to debunk; rather they capture valid essential truths about the human experience. One of my generous endorsers commented that The Secret of Life is not only found in the biological sciences. Creation Stories offers another sort of code breaker: It compels us to share how people live.
By opening to page 99--or indeed any other page of Creation Stories--readers should get a very good idea of what the book is about. The segment of the story told there is one of many from around the world that showcases the role of landscape in telling stories with legs.
--Marshal Zeringue
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