Note: The following is NOT a discussion of global warming but of historic evidence for a variable Sun. So, please no one take offense. For my money, the best thing on television is the History Channel. I've seen some interesting episodes that described climatic conditions in historic times that may or may not be linked to variations in the Sun's energy. For example, during the Roman period, Europe appears to have been quite warmer than it is today, with vineyards producing wines in Brittania (England) that today can only be produced further south, in France and Italy. It is also appears that the Dark Ages coincided with a much cooler period. The resulting climatic and economic stresses seem to have contributed to the political chaos of the times. What is not well know is whether there were other forces besides the Sun's energy output that might have played a more important role. (Maybe the internal-combustion-engine-driven chariots of the Romans caused their warmer climate.) For example, some argue that the colder climate of the Dark Ages was caused by aerosols in the atmosphere from volcanic activity, and not due to the Sun at all. While the Maunder Minimum is well-documented, it seems that we just don't have enough hard data to categorically link the Sun to all climate change - at least that's what the History Channel says, and as everyone knows, TV is always right. In many ways we live in fascinating times. I doubt that the Romans, Gauls, Visigoths, Vandals, Byzantines or others in earlier times even had the means to know if the Sun were changing, and here we have the tools to measure even the most miniscule of changes. Does anyone know of reliable observations of changes in the Sun's output that might have been made by earlier cultures, that is, other than the Maunder Minimum? Kim