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Hydromythology and ethnohydrology in the new world
Author(s) -
Back William
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr017i002p00257
Subject(s) - mythology , natural (archaeology) , western hemisphere , history , environmental ethics , geography , archaeology , ethnology , philosophy , classics
From mythology, archeology, and chronicles of early explorers we can learn how early Americans viewed the cause and effect relations of hydrologic phenomena. Hopes and fears are the basis of religion, and it was through religion that water management was first practiced. Early people used their water resources to develop diverse civilizations in various parts of the western hemisphere. Not only was the rise of these earlier civilizations hydrologically influenced, but also the downfall of some was related to natural or man‐made hydrological crises in which gods and mythology continued to play a role.