Hans Georg Wunderlich

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hans Georg Wunderlich (born January 19, 1928 in Stuttgart , † May 28, 1974 in Stuttgart) was a German geologist .

life and work

Wunderlich studied geology in Bonn and Göttingen . In 1952 he received his doctorate in Göttingen ( contributions to the geology of the northern edge of the Harz in the Bad Harzburg area ) and in 1957 he completed his habilitation in Göttingen. In 1963 he became professor in Göttingen, and in 1970 professor of geology and paleontology in Stuttgart.

He dealt with geotectonics and mountain formation ( orogenesis ), where he was a supporter of the undercurrent theory . From 1969 he was the main coordinator for the priority program Geodynamics of the Mediterranean region of the German Research Foundation .

Work on the archeology of Crete

During his geological studies in Crete he became aware of the palace of Knossos . He contradicted the established thesis of Sir Arthur Evans , according to which the Minoan culture was extremely peaceful, and instead pointed to evidence of a pronounced cult of the dead , similar to that of the simultaneous Egyptian culture of the Old Kingdom .

In the volume Where the bull wore Europe (1972) he analyzes the Cretominoic excavations from the perspective of geology and found a number of contradictions in Evan's theories; For example, the devices referred to as bathtubs are completely unsuitable for bathing , since their sheathing is made of a water-soluble material and there is also no drain. He considers the light shafts to be ventilation shafts .

It is also unlikely that the “ palaces ” and “ villas ”, all of which are located on hills, were permanently inhabited, as no water supply was guaranteed there; He considers the wells found to be not deep enough and therefore interpreted them as cisterns . Wunderlich therefore assumes that the population lived in the plains and that the so-called villas and palaces were mortuary temples .

Wunderlich's criticism provoked a protracted scientific dispute, but is now regarded as an outsider's opinion and is considered largely refuted.

Works (chronological)

  • Tectonics and metamorphosis of the Bündener Schiefer in the vicinity of the Gotthard massif (1957, with W. Pleßmann )
  • Structure and age ratio of the tectonic and metamorphic processes in the Grisons slate in northern Ticino and Graubünden (1958)
  • Ceiling construction , folding and lineation in the Ligurian Alps and the adjacent Apennines (1958)
  • On the tectonics and metamorphosis of the Apuan Alps, Academy of Sciences Göttingen, Math.-Naturwiss. Class, 1960, pp. 118-158
  • Nature and causes of mountain formation , BI university pocket books (1966)
  • with Erich Bederke : Atlas of Geology, Bibliographisches Institut (BI) Mannheim, 1968
  • Introduction to Geology, BI university handbooks, 2 volumes (1968)
  • Where the bull carried Europe. Crete's Secret and the Awakening of the West (1972)
  • Construction of the earth. Geology of the continents and seas, BI university pocket books, 2 volumes (1973, 1975)
  • The Stone Age is not over yet. A Psycho-Archeology of Man (1974)
  • The new image of the earth. Fascinating Discoveries of Modern Geology (1975)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tectogenesis of the Leinetalgraben and its marginal clods , Geologische Rundschau, Volume 46, 1957, Issue 2
  2. ↑ See e.g. E.g .: Branigan, Keith (1978). Review of: The Secret of Crete by Hans Georg Wunderlich, Richard Winston . The Geographical Journal , Vol. 144, No. 3 (Nov., 1978), pp. 502-503.
personal data
SURNAME Wunderlich, Hans Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German geologist
DATE OF BIRTH January 19, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1974
Place of death Stuttgart