Posted on 08/17/2013 4:28:29 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Magli simulated what the sky would have looked like from Turkey when Göbekli Tepe was built. Over millennia, the positions of the stars change due to Earth wobbling as it spins on its axis. Stars that are near the horizon will rise and set at different points, and they can even disappear completely, only to reappear thousands of years later.
Today, Sirius can be seen almost worldwide as the brightest star in the sky -- excluding the sun -- and the fourth brightest night-sky object after the moon, Venus and Jupiter. Sirius is so noticeable that its rising and setting was used as the basis for the ancient Egyptian calendar, says Magli. At the latitude of Göbekli Tepe, Sirius would have been below the horizon until around 9300 BC, when it would have suddenly popped into view...
Using existing maps of Göbekli Tepe and satellite images of the region, Magli drew an imaginary line running between and parallel to the two megaliths inside each enclosure. Three of the excavated rings seem to be aligned with the points on the horizon where Sirius would have risen in 9100 BC, 8750 BC and 8300 BC, respectively (arxiv.org/abs/1307.8397).
(Excerpt) Read more at newscientist.com ...
The 11,000-year-old site consists of a series of at least 20 circular enclosures, although only a few have been uncovered since excavations began in the mid-1990s. Each one is surrounded by a ring of huge, T-shaped stone pillars, some of which are decorated with carvings of fierce animals. Two more megaliths stand parallel to each other at the centre of each ring.
Gobekli Tepe Constellations
Frontiers of Anthropology | 7-16-2013
Posted on 08/04/2013 6:12:23 PM PDT by Renfield
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3051119/posts
Siriusly?
I am amazed at what astute astronomers some ancient people were.
When my husband and I visited the Mayan ruins of Tulum on the Yucatan peninsula a few years ago, we learned that the whole village of Tulum was built to be a calendar (as well as to fulfill a few other functions).
With our modern instruments, we no longer need to build to highlight celestial features. We may have lost some creativity as a result.
How noticeable would it have been when it first came into view? It would have barely cleared the horizon before setting a few degrees away. An interesting coincidence has been noted and seized upon, I think.
Sirius is Hugh.
My urban friends are always amazed by by what I know about the night sky and the universe. What I know is just the basics. I am not even an “amateur” astronomer as most of those are defined. But I DO go outside at night and look around. I DO get up before dawn and note interesting things in the sky, the stars and the position of the moon and sun on the horizon. Planet movements are very obvious.
This stuff isn’t truly that hard. Aliens and geniuses are not required. This is why we see these sorts of temples, sky calendars and sun markers spread through many ancient peoples all over the planet. It’s neat and impressive nonetheless.
Thanks for this post.
Oldplayer
I guess if you think stars control an individual's destiny, there would be a clientele for this type of information, but it seems to me, it takes so many years of careful study to figure out the various cycles that can be observed. Precession of the equinoxes, for example, takes 26,000 years to complete a single cycle - how did they figure that out without direct observation over hundreds or thousands of years? If you understand the mechanics of planetary motion I could see how one could predict that the constellation of Leo will rise at the vernal equinox at such-and-such a time, but how do you make that prediction if you don't (and these ancient people supposedly didn't) unless you have thousands of years of observation to refer to?
Interesting!
The monoliths at Gobekli Tepe are some 12,000+ years old. The relief carvings are so well done, it makes one stop and think just what tools were those ancients using. Was this a remnant of some anti-deluvian culture?
Atop one Minerett on a typical Mosque you’ll see the crescent moon & a star. Symbol for allah & his daughters honored?
anti-deluvians? They were opposed to the flood? (Just funnin’ with ya. Of course, you meant ante-deluvians.)
No TV.
We specialized, and lost track of the world around us as a result. We wait for someone else to tell us it is going to rain, instead of check the sky, the flies, tree leaves turning over, or the way smoke rolls downwind. Most (first world) people don't pay any attention at all now. The ancients had to--their lives and livelihoods depended on it.
No, it was very noticeable because it was part of a constellation. This has been written about in an excellent book, “Hamlet’s Mill”.
They did have thousands of years of observation, and the information was vital to daily life. I recommend the book “Hamlet’s Mill”. The ancients knew more than we can even imagine.
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