History reflects seismic events
Numerous traditions of the native peoples on the west coast of North America have their origin in strong earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis or similar natural disasters. Centuries later, how much they shaped people is reflected in the detailed descriptions of individual scenes that survive, although many details are usually lost or altered in transmission to succeeding generations, explains Ruth Ludwin of the University of Washington in Seattle.
Ludwin and her collaborators analyzed the stories surrounding a powerful nature spirit named A'yahos, who is often depicted as a double-headed serpent. They found a close connection between location information in the records and actual fault zones. In one case, the researchers were even able to derive a location description and use lidar measurements to demonstrate a long-buried and overgrown landslide [1].
In a recent analysis, the researcher had found several stories that indicate a severe earthquake around 1700 - for example by reporting about surviving great-grandparents or grandparents who saw other survivors [2]. In fact, at the end of January there was an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of nine - traces of a tsunami triggered by it were also evident in Japan.
One of the central characteristics of the numerous stories of the coastal peoples is that they repeatedly depict fights between a thunderbird and a whale or similar figures associated with wind, thunder or water. Various contents can be interpreted as symbols for shocks and floods: when the griffin is pulled into the sea by the whale, for example, or the whale, grabbed by the thunderbird and carried aloft, falls to the earth. The traditions related to tremors and floods vary from region to region, apparently depending on the consequences of the disasters the inhabitants experienced.
