‘소빙기(1490~1760)’에 출현한 기형 동물 : 『조선왕조실록』 기록과 독일 전단(Flugblatt) 자료 비교 분석

Abstract

During the Little Ice Age (1490-1760), natural disasters were primarily caused by extreme weather conditions featuring significant drops in temperature, which caused damage to crops; the resulting decrease in agricultural production led to famines. Recurring famines, in turn, caused the outbreaks of pandemics, resulting in massive death worldwide. The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty (朝鮮王朝實錄) recorded a wide range of unusual events during the Little Ice Age including significant drops in ground-level temperature, reduced crops, repeated famines, and the prevalence of infectious disease, along with abnormal changes in the sky. In addition to abnormal natural conditions, other disasters during the Little Ice Age included frequent crop damages from insects and the appearance of deformed animals. This paper focuses on the appearance of deformed animals. By analyzing the 271 cases of deformed animals identified in the Veritable Records, this research examines the types of deformed animals and their regional distribution. While investigating the main cause of the Little Ice Age, I noticed that what space science refers to as “cosmic dust” was brought into the earth’s atmosphere by a multitude of meteors or accumulated in the atmosphere due to atmospheric meteor explosions. The Veritable Records recorded unusual situations such as pressed dust or powder falling from the sky or thick fog blocking vision and causing darkness during the day. This paper thus regards such records of unusual situations as indications of the long-term accumulation of “space dust,” which this paper identifies as the cause of animal deformations. This paper also relies on thirty-eight cases of deformations in the German flugblatt published during the Little Ice Age. These resources were collected from the German National Museum in Nuremberg, Germany; the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel, Germany; and the Wickiana collection of the Zurich Central Library, Switzerland. Ample and graphic evidence taken from both the Veritable Records and the German flugblatt gives credence to the actual occurrence of abnormal phenomena during the Little Ice Age. The unusually frequent reporting of deformed animals during the Little Ice Age is key evidence of severe natural abnormalities. This comparative analysis indicates that the Joseon Dynasty responded to the appearance of deformed animals on the basis of Confucianism, while Germany reacted to the same situation from a Christian perspective.