'Oldest Star Chart' Found (32,500 Years Old)

BBC ^ | 1-21-2003 | Dr. David Whetstone

[blam]

Tuesday, 21 January, 2003, 10:50 GMT

'Oldest star chart' found

The carvings have been interpreted as a star map

By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor

The oldest image of a star pattern, that of the famous constellation of Orion, has been recognised on an ivory tablet some 32,500 years old. The tiny sliver of mammoth tusk contains a carving of a man-like figure with arms and legs outstretched in the same pose as the stars of Orion.

The claim is made by Dr Michael Rappenglueck, formerly of the University of Munich, who is already renowned for his pioneering work locating star charts painted on the walls of prehistoric caves.

The tablet also contains mysterious notches, carved on its sides and on its back. These could be a primitive "pregnancy calendar", designed to estimate when a pregnant woman will give birth.

Man-like figure

It was found in 1979 in a cave in the Ach Valley in the Alb-Danube region of Germany. Carbon dating of bone ash deposits found next to the tablet suggest it is between 32,500 and 38,000 years old, making it one of the oldest representations of a man ever found.

It was left behind by the mysterious Aurignacian people about whom we know next to nothing save that they moved into Europe from the east supplanting the indigenous Neanderthals.

The ivory tablet is small, measuring only 38 x 14 x 4 millimetres, but from the notches carved into its edges archaeologists believe that it was made that size and is not a fragment of something bigger.

On one side of the tablet is the man-like being with his legs apart and arms raised. Between his legs hangs what could be a sword and his waist is narrow. His left leg is shorter than his right one.

Rappenglueck has found other evidence

From what is speculated about the myths of these ancient peoples before the dawn of history, archaeologists have suggested that the man-like figure could be praying or dancing, or be a half-man, half-cat, or a divine being.

But Michael Rappenglueck thinks it is a drawing of the constellation of Orion that is nowadays, and was perhaps also 32,000 years ago, called the hunter.

The proportions of the man correspond to the pattern of stars that comprise Orion, especially its slim waist - which corresponds to its famous belt of three stars and the left "leg" of the constellation being shorter.

The "sword" on the ivory tablet also corresponds to a famous and well-know feature that can be seen in Orion.

There are also other indications that Dr Rappenglueck may be correct.

The stars were in slightly different positions 32,000 years ago because they are moving across the sky at different speeds and in different directions, a phenomenon called "proper motion".

Dr Rappenglueck allowed for this effect by using a computer program to wind back the sky and found evidence for a particular star in Orion that was in a different place all those years ago.

Human gestation period

The tablet may also be a pregnancy calendar.

There are 86 notches on the tablet, a number that has two special meanings.

First, it is the number of days that must be subtracted from a year to equal the average number of days of a human gestation. This is no coincidence, says Dr Rappenglueck.

It is also the number of days that one of Orion's two prominent stars, Betelguese, is visible. To ancient man, this might have linked human fertility with the gods in the sky.

Orion is one of the most striking constellations. The Ancient Egyptians identified it with their god Osiris and it has a special significance for many cultures throughout history throughout the world.

[JudyB1938]

Maybe it's an Aurignacian's "I come in peace" stance, commemorating a peace treaty.

Left leg doesn't look shorter to me. Looks like the right leg is in front of the body with a bended knee. Matter of perspective.

The "sword" looks more like a spear with a rock head at the bottom to me, due to its being so long. (Look where it extends up to the head). Or it's just a defect in the wood.

What's that thing on the left bicep?

You watch. UFO people will claim it as their own.

[LiteKeeper]

YEC read later

[colorado tanker]

Calling Lili Von Shtupp, sword investigator extraordinaire!

[SwinneySwitch]

Or it could be an early BC Neanderthal getting a BJ!

[RobRoy]

Hey, somebody finally found my rock! (I lost it at the beach)

[husky ed]

This is an obivious fake.
This was made by the same 85 year old fart that just died and his wife that did the Bigfoot tracks all over the states for the past 150 years. Their son said they started it all. Crop circles, Yeti, Helen Thomas

[blam]

""Whitehouse" is right, "Whetstone" wrong, for Dr. David's last name. "

Hmmm. You are correct. Wonder how I did that?

[aruanan]

Between his legs hangs what could be a sword and his waist is narrow.

32,000 years ago I'm betting it's a representation of something else.

[blam]

"Does anyone have a star chart program handy? Fire it up and tell us how the stars of Orion looked in 30,500 BC. What does 32,500 years of stellar movement do to Orion's shape? (In other words, did it look like the figurine back then?)"

Dadgumit, my son gave me a program Planetarium Gold for Christmas. We (he) had it look at something in 2,000BC when he was here for Christmas. Unfortunately I don't know how to use it or if it will go back that far. I've pinged him.

[steveo]

Didn't these idiots know that mammoth's were endangered? What loosers.

[AndrewC]

Computer enhanced image.

[Interesting Times]

I'm going to need a little more convincing about the correlation of the carving to the layout of Orion.

"See, the left leg is shorter" somehow lacks scientific rigor...

[Political Junkie Too]

I could have sworn it was a cross-walk sign. See? Some drunks shot up the back of it.

-PJ

[Political Junkie Too]

I could have sworn it was a cross-walk sign. See? Some drunks shot up the back of it.

-PJ

[Godebert]

" Not bad, considering that the sword wasn't invented for another 25,000 years. Some scholarship."

Good catch.

[blam]

""See, the left leg is shorter" somehow lacks scientific rigor..."

LOL. Not robust enough?

[Vinnie]

First, it is the number of days that must be subtracted from a year to equal the average number of days of a human gestation

LOL, Wonder how long it took to come to this idiotic conclusion.

My guess the figure is a self portrait ( with a little enhancement ) and the notches are a record of his 'conquests'.

[Eaker]

This is just as likely a TV guide as a star chart.

I guess it is just me. I don't see Orion in Orion and I only see shade or rain in clouds.

Stay safe; stay armed.
Eaker Freeper Status

[Charge Carrier]

Planetarium Gold does not do proper motion. Only recently has such data become available anyway - extrapolation by 30,000 years may be a bit pushing it. Nevertheless, given that any figure could be superimposed on the stars (e.g. see "A Beautiful Mind") it seems a bit weak if that was it.

However, I find it interesting that there are exactly 12 rows of holes. The only signifigance of that number in pre-history I can think of is the number of lunar cycles in a year. So that seems to lean to some sort of annual/lunar calender related bookkeeping. Keeping track of the seasons would seem a lot more useful to hunters then caring about the stars.