ANOTHER BOGUS PALEOLITHIC STAR MAP - THE ACH VALLEY TUSK:

Ach Valley carved mammoth

ivory, www.astronomytrek.com.

Public domain.

There is an old piece of advice that states "if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all." This is obviously very good advice for human interaction, but there are circumstances where erroneous or dangerous ideas are being passed on, that I believe must be called out for what they are. I have recently been writing a series of columns about the theories of Dr. Michael Rappenglueck, who identifies star charts in Paleolithic art. I have tried to patiently point out what I think are the flaws in his reasoning and shown how I disagree with his conclusions. This example, however, is even shakier than the others.

The Ach Valley Tusk is a piece of mammoth ivory, recovered from Geißenklösterle Cave near Ulm, Germany, that has a human figure carved into one side and a series of 86 pits or notches cut into the other. Rappengluek identified the human figure as a star map representing the constellation Orion.

Constellation Orion star chart,

www.ancient-origins.net,

Public Domain.

"Orion is a prominent constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world. It is one of the most conspicuous and recognizable constellations in the night sky. It was named after Orion, a hunter in Greek mythology. Its brightest stars are Rigel (Beta orionis) and Betelgeuse (Alpha orionis), a blue-white and a red supergiant, respectively.

The earliest depiction that has been linked to the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley in West Germany in 1979. Archaeologists have estimated it to have been fashioned approximately 32,000 to 38,000 years ago. The distinctive pattern of Orion has been recognized in numerous cultures around the world, and many myths have been associated with it." (wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion)

Constellation Orion, NASA,

Public Domain, atoday.org.

Writing on astronomytrek.com, Peter Christoforou, explained the proposition. According to Christoforou "Dr. Michael A. Rappengluck is well respected in academic circles, and has a solid grounding in both astronomy and the history of astronomy. In fact, Dr. Rappengluck holds an advanced degree in the History of Astronomy from the University of Munich, and he has served as the President of the Society of Archaeaoastronomy in Germany." (Christoforou 2018)

"According to research published by Dr. Rappengluck, the figure must be Orion, since the slim waist of the figure corresponds to the Belt of Orion, and the sword he sees hanging from the waist of the figure is easy to see in the real constellation. Moreover, Dr. Rappengluck is at some pains to point out that the figurines' left leg is somewhat shorter than the right leg, just as it is in the constellation. Therefore, the figure on the ivory fragment is Orion the Hunter." (Christoforou 2018) I feel I should take this opportunity to point out that the writer Peter Christoforou has gone out of his way to be fair to Rappenglueck, even if he is not convinced of the carving's identity as Orion (and I urge you to read his whole paper at the address below) he has given all the arguments, pro and con.

The usual arguments still apply, but in this case a couple of new ones come into play as well. First, thousands of bone, ivory, and antler carvings were recovered from Geißenklösterle Cave but this is the only one that portrays a constellation? To make this argument Christoforou pointed to a carving of a bison. "This figuring of a bison shows some simple bas-relief in addition to faint details like horns and a beard, despite the fact that it measures only 25.5mm x 14.5 mm x 6 mm, which is comparable to the dimensions of the human-like figure of the putative Orion star map. The original carving is housed in the Wurttemberg Landesmuseum, Stuttgart.

While the existence of this particular carving (the bison) does not prove anything beyond the fact that it shows exquisite workmanship, it is significant that neither Dr. Rappenglueck, nor any other archeaoastronomers have suggested that the figure represents the constellation Taurus, or any other constellation. Of course, this does not prove that the Orion carving is not a star map, but the point is that only one artifact from among the thousands recovered from the cave is taken to represent a constellation. By all accounts, this is rather strange considering the sheer amount of artifacts that could be taken as star maps, or representations of the objects/patterns in the night sky." (Christoforou 2018)

The other obvious problem is, of course, the sword that Rappenglueck sees hanging from the figure's belt, and that identifies him as Orion. Is it really like all the other known Paleolithic swords to be so convincing? Oh wait, what's that you say, there are no Paleolithic swords? What was I thinking of?

Another issue is the fertility connection that Rappenglueck imbues this carving with. Remember the 86 notches on the back of the carving? "The average length of human gestation is 280 days, or 40 weeks." (www.betterhealth.vic) Rappenglueck noted that if you subtract the 86 notches from the number of days in a year you have a number that is very close to the average length of modern human pregnancy. (The only references I have been able to find about the length of pregnancy in the Paleolithic period assume that it was the same as today).

"The reverse side of the Orion carving is dotted with 86 notches, which Dr. Rappanglueck claims is a "birth calendar". According to Dr. Rappenglueck, if one subtracts 86 from the number of days in a year (365), one arrives at the average human gestation period, which is around 279 days, or nine months, gave or take a few days either way. Nevertheless, this implies that the Aurignacian culture could count, that they knew how many days there were in a year, and that they understood and practiced basic arithmetic." (Christoforou 2018)

I am going to give them some benefit of the doubt here - I assume that the Aurignacian peoples could count. I find it inconceivable that they would have reached such cultural heights and overlooked counting. I even assume that they could understand and practice simple basic arithmetic. I am less convinced that they knew the number of days in a year - 12 moons, yes, but the actual number of days in a year, I don't know. This, however, makes no difference. What kind of pregnancy calculation is made by subtracting 86 days from the end of a year, when you don't know at what point the year started (when the pregnancy began)?

"Moreover, Dr. Rappenglueck also claims that the 86 notches on the carving represent the number of days that one of Orion's principal stars, Betelgeuse, is visible, thus forming a link between the sky gods and human fertility." (Christoforou 2018)

This last statement is particularly confusing because the truth is that Betelgeuse is visible all year except for June and July when they are in the sky during daylight hours. "In the Northern Hemisphere, beginning in January of each year, it can be seen rising in the east just after sunset. By mid-September to mid-March (best in mid-December), it is visible to virtually every inhabited region of the globe, except for a few research stations in Antarctica at latitudes south of 82˚. In May (moderate northern latitudes) or June (southern latitudes), the red supergiant can be seen briefly on the western horizon after sunset, reappearing again a few months later on the eastern horizon before sunrise. In the intermediate period (June-July) it is invisible to the naked eye (visible only with a telescope in daylight) - - . " (wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse)

All in all, this Orion figurine is the most egregious of Rappenglueck's claimed identifications of Paleolithic star maps, and I find it totally unbelievable.

NOTE: The pictures in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain images. If they were not meant to be public domain please contact me and I will give full credit.

REFERENCES:

Christoforou, Peter

2018 Is the Ach Valley Tusk-fragment an Ancient Star Map?, March 2, 2018, https://www.astronomytrek.com/is-the-ach-valley-tusk-fragnebt-an-ancient-star-map/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/baby-due-date

NASA

www.ancient-origins.net

www.astronomytrek.com