Evidence discovered on the walls of Lascaux cave, in the Dordogne region of France and dating from the epoch of the Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, suggests the importance of the Pleiades in timing the migratory cycles of aurochs (wild cattle). In ancient Egypt, the “Seven Hathors”, or ‘celestial herd’, were associated with the annual inundation of the Nile and the subsequent grain harvest. The ancient Greek Hesiod taught that plowing should begin with the setting of the “daughters of Atlas” and the harvest at their rising.
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In the late 1970s evidence surfaced that remained without significant interpretation for three decades of a similar usage for the observation of the Pleiades cluster’s rising and setting during the Late Prehistoric period in central North America (specifically today’s north-central Oklahoma). In 1979 J. R. Galm published discoveries of a late prehistoric village of four or five houses near the western shore the Arkansas River (now Kaw Lake). Galm reportedly observed: “The house *[‘House One’] is represented as square in floor plan, with rounded corners, four center support posts, an east(?) entrance, and a floor area of less than 400 square feet. Included masses of daub, some stick-and-grass-impressed, are of undetermined function…”. Two radiocarbon and three archaeomagnetic dates for the site yield an occupancy span from approximately A. D. 817 to A. D. 1325. Source: W. R. Wedel, Archeologist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution Book Review of The Uncas Site: A Late Prehistoric Manifestation in the Southern Plains. Jerry R. Galm, Research Series No. 5, Archaeological Research and Management Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1979
Subsequently, Dr. Susan Vehik, archaeologist, Professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma, and some of her graduate students reworked the site and revisited the initial observations with an alternate conclusion. All of the houses in the settlement had burned during the inhabitant’s occupation. She stated: ”The site was a small hamlet. Probably four or five houses. They all burnt down. And so they didn't have much notice to get out of there and so pretty much everything they were using was left in the houses and then they burned. And in House One* was the remains of what ultimately proved to be the star chart.” Pieces of the ‘clay daub’ ”…had been plastered over a series of small vertical poles stuck into the ground, to very smooth on one face and it retains the impressions of the poles on the other face. And then within that are these individual little finger impressions…” Dr. Vehik interprets these impressions as “different stars”.
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Initially, she believed that the impressions were simply ”wall decorations”; however, some amateur astronomers commented that ”…it looks like the Pleiades”.
Dr. Vehik describes the purpose as ”…they used it to time all sorts of things…they appeared at first in the night sky on August 10th. It was probably time to stop the summer bison hunt, come back to their village, harvest their crops, engage in some ceremonies. And then when they reached about the point that equal day and equal amounts of night were present, that was when they stopped their ceremonies. Winter had come, animals were hibernating, birds were flying south, it was time for them to stop their ceremonial season. They watched it until February 3rd or so when it went away. Then it was time for spring to come. It was time to begin preparations for planting and time to start their ceremonial season again. As long as the Pleiades were gone they did those things…” Source: Archaeologist Susan Vehik Discusses Star Chart Artifact Found In North-Central Oklahoma
For millennia ancient man relied on the Pleiades cluster as a marker on the celestial clock, and as a benchmark to monitor the machinations of Earth’s flora and fauna. Paradise found…paradise lost.
Dr. Troglodyte
In the late 1970s evidence surfaced that remained without significant interpretation for three decades of a similar usage for the observation of the Pleiades cluster’s rising and setting during the Late Prehistoric period in central North America (specifically today’s north-central Oklahoma). In 1979 J. R. Galm published discoveries of a late prehistoric village of four or five houses near the western shore the Arkansas River (now Kaw Lake). Galm reportedly observed: “The house *[‘House One’] is represented as square in floor plan, with rounded corners, four center support posts, an east(?) entrance, and a floor area of less than 400 square feet. Included masses of daub, some stick-and-grass-impressed, are of undetermined function…”. Two radiocarbon and three archaeomagnetic dates for the site yield an occupancy span from approximately A. D. 817 to A. D. 1325. Source: W. R. Wedel, Archeologist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution Book Review of The Uncas Site: A Late Prehistoric Manifestation in the Southern Plains. Jerry R. Galm, Research Series No. 5, Archaeological Research and Management Center, University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1979
Subsequently, Dr. Susan Vehik, archaeologist, Professor Emeritus, University of Oklahoma, and some of her graduate students reworked the site and revisited the initial observations with an alternate conclusion. All of the houses in the settlement had burned during the inhabitant’s occupation. She stated: ”The site was a small hamlet. Probably four or five houses. They all burnt down. And so they didn't have much notice to get out of there and so pretty much everything they were using was left in the houses and then they burned. And in House One* was the remains of what ultimately proved to be the star chart.” Pieces of the ‘clay daub’ ”…had been plastered over a series of small vertical poles stuck into the ground, to very smooth on one face and it retains the impressions of the poles on the other face. And then within that are these individual little finger impressions…” Dr. Vehik interprets these impressions as “different stars”.
Initially, she believed that the impressions were simply ”wall decorations”; however, some amateur astronomers commented that ”…it looks like the Pleiades”.
Dr. Vehik describes the purpose as ”…they used it to time all sorts of things…they appeared at first in the night sky on August 10th. It was probably time to stop the summer bison hunt, come back to their village, harvest their crops, engage in some ceremonies. And then when they reached about the point that equal day and equal amounts of night were present, that was when they stopped their ceremonies. Winter had come, animals were hibernating, birds were flying south, it was time for them to stop their ceremonial season. They watched it until February 3rd or so when it went away. Then it was time for spring to come. It was time to begin preparations for planting and time to start their ceremonial season again. As long as the Pleiades were gone they did those things…” Source: Archaeologist Susan Vehik Discusses Star Chart Artifact Found In North-Central Oklahoma
For millennia ancient man relied on the Pleiades cluster as a marker on the celestial clock, and as a benchmark to monitor the machinations of Earth’s flora and fauna. Paradise found…paradise lost.
Dr. Troglodyte