[jsmthrowaway]

Imagine observing these events and trying to explain them with rudimentary scientific understanding. At the time, the best explanations for volcanoes involved wind causing friction in narrow canyons or subterranean rivers of fire, but nobody really knew. One can appreciate mythology more in this light, given the titanic scale of volcanic eruptions and an entire species agape in wonder.

Cool stuff. Really drives home that we are guests of this planet.

[dredmorbius]

The study of the evolution of understanding of geology itself, particularly from the late 18th century, when things started hotting up, is pretty interesting.

A lot of initial observations and attempts to reconcile those with the biblical record, but that didn't add up. Lyell establishing gradualism. Lord Kelvin noting that thermodynamic cooling only allowed for about 30 million years of Earth history (pretty clearly not consistent with the structural geological record). Rutherford, Soddy, and Hardy establishing radioactivity and radiodating. Plate tectonics being proposed (initially as "continental drift"), rejected as patently absurd, and adopted some 50 years later as the fundamental organising principle of geology.

Added gloss from discoveries such as the Chixulub impactor, etc.

[thaumasiotes]

Subterranean rivers of fire is pretty close to how we understand them today.

[Pitarou]

River of fire comes out of the ground. Hmm. Where did it come from?

[strictfp]

There must be a real hellhole down there...

[em3rgent0rdr]

The concept of Hell, being inferred from volcanic eruptions, is not terribly unscientific.

[0003]

Plate tectonics?