a six-legged, lizard-like being
Posted on 02/09/2010 11:24:31 AM PST by Palter
Though local lore held that the so-called "scorpion tree" had been the work of cowboys, paleontologist Rex Saint Onge immediately knew that the tree was carved by Indians when he stumbled upon it in the fall of 2006. Located in a shady grove atop the Santa Lucia Mountains in San Luis Obispo County, the centuries-old gnarled oak had the image of a six-legged, lizard-like being meticulously scrawled into its trunk, the nearly three-foot-tall beast topped with a rectangular crown and two large spheres. "I was really the first one to come across it who understood that it was a Chumash motif," says Saint Onge, referring to the native people who painted similar designs on rock formations from San Luis Obispo south through Santa Barbara and into Malibu.
Amazingly, Saint Onge had just identified the West Coast's only known Native American arborglyph, one long hidden behind private property signs. But the discoveries didn't stop there. After spending more time at the site, Saint Onge realized that the carved crown and its relation to one of the spheres was strikingly similar to the way the constellation Ursa Major — which includes the Big Dipper—related to the position of Polaris, the North Star. "But as a paleontologist, I live my life looking down at the ground," says Saint Onge, who runs an archaeological-consulting firm out of nearby Arroyo Grande."I didn't know much about astronomy at all."
He quickly learned that the constellation rotates around the North Star every 24 hours, that its placement during sunset could be used to tell the seasons and that the Chumash people also revered this astronomical relationship in their language and cosmology."It's the third largest constellation in the sky and they saw it every single night for tens of thousands of years," says Saint Onge.
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
ping.
It would be really nice if the story had better pictures.
Notice he pleaded guilty to having sex with the same horse last year?
Wow....I’m thinking this may be the horse’s fault.....
She’s probably strutting that fine horsey ass around in front of him........taunting him teasingly with her tail......
Yea, also, my apologizes, ahem, using ‘public’ computers today, and I’m limited in posting photos.
Wow. Perhaps the greatest wrong thread reply I’ve ever seen.
Is this random posting week? How come I never get the memos?
I was talking about the article itself. Sorry, didn’t mean you.
Tell me about it! LMAO!
I’ve made a few in 13 years but none like that one.
ahhhhh, ooops.
I think you do get the prize for the strangest reply post.
a six-legged, lizard-like being
Why is it so hard to believe that Cowboys actually did it??
what story are you posting about????
"I dunno. What so you feel like doin' today?"
Are you sure you want to know?
Nowhere in the story does it tell how old the tree is, other than ‘centuries’ old. When did these Indians live?
Well, also there is nowhere in that article anything about a man and a horsey...
Native truth- Discovery of an ancient Chumash artifact sheds light on the tribe's complex history
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