Step Done 2026-10-26

Traced the Qingyang 1490 'meteorite deaths' to their sources

Read the Ming History, Shen Defu's book of portents, Yau et al. 1994, the Gansu gazetteer and the court's daily record (Shilu) for all of 1490. The Shilu has other portents of that year, even a fireball the same month, but nothing at Qingyang; the death tolls appear only in late-Ming books of marvels; the Ming History (1739) gives none. Counted the Ming History's hail and falling-stone records: north-west hail is rare by the 3rd month, but the record cannot settle hail versus meteorites.

How it connects

This step led us to Ming History records: hail in the north-west falls mostly in the 4th to 7th months (1 of 14 dated storms came by the 3rd month); hail sizes 'like goose eggs' are common; hail deaths up to about 1,000

This step led us to The court's daily record for 1490 has no stone fall and no mass deaths at Qingyang, though it has four of the Ming History's other five portents of that year

This step led us to The 10,000 deaths at Qingyang are a story added about a century later: the 1490 court record does not have the event at all

This step led us to What fell at Qingyang: hail or a meteorite shower? Both fit the sizes; early-spring hail is uncommon there, and showers of countless meteorites are rare everywhere

This step is about Did a shower of meteorites kill 10,000 people at Qingyang, China, in 1490?

This step and then Read Bonilla's 1885 report and worked out how far away his 'bodies' could be

This step came after Checked the radiocarbon dates for the end of Erlitou; the Xia lead is parked