The recent discovery of 22 calcite crystals at the Middle Stone Age Ga-Mohana Hill North Rock Shelter in the far-inland southern Kalahari basin, by Wilkins et al., 2021 (Nature, 592, 248-252) has extended the geographical and temporal range of mineral collections in archaeological sites. This hoard of unworked, “non-utilitarian” calcite crystals is by far the oldest collection of individual crystals of the same mineral species, being ~105,000 years old. The crystals range in length from 8 to 32 mm (average 16.13 mm). Their size and shape distribution implies a specific aesthetic selection process of symbolic significance, targeting “aesthetically pleasing” (to our modern eyes) equant euhedral crystals (average long/short length ratio = 1.60, similar to the Golden Ratio in Art, 1.618, which obeys the rule x² = x + 1), to the exclusion of thin slivers and chips resulting from the breaking of natural calcite vein outcrops. Crystals represent a tangible manifestation of fractal processes in nature. Although individual crystals in the Ga-Mohana hoard can vary greatly in size, their overall shapes are very similar, and the crystals resemble each other. Early “modern Homo sapiens” were equipped with the mental apparatus for choosing similar objects (e.g. crystals with an equant shape) - an ability which may have evolved in human brains in the African environment where they had to subsist on hunting and gathering. The fractal nature of the selected crystals in terms of both interfacial angles, as well as equant shape, may have added to their attractive qualities.

Before modern science equipped us with tools to predict, describe, and understand natural phenomena, communities had already sought to explore the origins of various landforms and events, both catastrophic and not. They developed effective strategies to address challenges, process their experiences, and transmit this knowledge across generations, as part of traditional knowledge, which is often transmitted orally through storytelling and frequently takes the form of myths.
In oral traditions, myths occupy a central role as narrative vehicles for codifying memories of disasters, their interpretation, and their transmission. This concept is at the heart of Geomythology, an innovative approach that highlights the interplay between myths and geological events. This dynamic is particularly evident in certain traditional societies, such as those in the Pacific Islands, where oral traditions remain vibrant, and the art of mythmaking continues to thrive.
This study focuses on myths and oral narratives from the Pacific Islands, particularly Fiji. It demonstrates that many stories originate from direct observation and empirical experience. We will examine myths related to volcanic activity and recurrent earthquakes, exploring how unusual natural features and hazardous events were explained through references to supernatural beings, and how sometimes the embedded clues that enable the recognition and anticipation of similar occurrences in the future.
Additionally, we will investigate how oral traditions associate specific locations with particular mythological episodes. This intertwining of landscape interpretation with mythological memory is further reflected in place names, offering insights into how these narratives shape the cultural understanding of the environment.

Generally speaking, the history of science in Japan is described as a double or multiple waves of importation of Chinese and Western sciences. According to this idea, there was no ‘indigenous’ science at all when Western science was introduced. In fact, for instance, both Chinese medicine and building technology were a Japanized version of Chinese science and technology, and they could be called a ‘traditional science’ with a certain system, not an ‘indigenous’ one.
Then, what does indigenous science mean? Perhaps the first wave of formation of Japanese science was in the Heian period, and George Sarton's treatment of Kukai (774-835) in his world history of science, which saw the inseparable relationship between religion and science, is instructive. Sarton (1927) positioned Kukai as one of the builders of Japanese civilization at the crest of 9th century renaissance.
If this is the case, can it be said that the science of the ‘indigenous’ was before Kukai? It is true that there was a ‘mountain religion’ unique to Japan, and the founders of Shugendō, such as En no Ozunu (c.634-c.701), appeared. Some of them were probably a group of charlatans who formed a network of resource procurement. Shugendō was temporarily discontinued during the enlightenment period of the Meiji Restoration, but was completely revived after World War II. As James Clifford would suggest in the term of ‘indigeneity’, they become active as semi-secular practitioners in various places. This may be one way to think about the history of science in the ‘Anthropocene’ era.

In Islamic societies, myths and legends concerning metals, gems and stones have been widespreaded in popular culture. Number of books that dealt with the Islamic mineral heritage transmitted many strange tales and amazing stories about natural properties, spiritual properties and therapeutic benefits, of minerals, gems and stones, such as the relationship of minerals and gems with the zodiac, planets, stars and moons. Stories that some writers have mentioned without scrutiny, criticism or verification.
In his "Treatises on How to Recognise Gems“, Al-Biruni stopped at the myths and legends, given that common people, and even some interested and specialized people, believed that these strange properties and wondrous phenomena were associated with supernatural events that were not governed by laws or norms.
In this talk, we will shed light on the most prominent of these myths and legends, which are: Gold germination; Emerald and its effect on snakes’ eyes; Eagles and vultures bringing diamonds; The stone repelling hail; And the stone that brings rain. We will also mention Al-Biruni’s efforts in tracking down these tales, myths and legends, demonstrating the corruption and weakness of these beliefs, providing scientific explanation and logical justification for these natural phenomena. This is one of many qualities of the “Treatise on How to Recognize Gems”, that exonerates Muslim mind from preferring myths over science, and clears Muslim science from the ignorance with which some orientalists described it with.