PALEOLITHIC STAR CHARTS - THE NORTHERN CROWN IN EL CASTILLO?

Red paintings in El Castillo

Cave, Spain - Public Domain.

I continue my exploration of (supposed) Paleolithic Star Charts with what has been called a diagram of the Northern Crown constellation in El Castillo Cave, in Spain. El Castillo is the current holder of the title for the oldest art in Europe with recent dates for red painted elements; Red circle: 40,800 BP, Red Hand: 37,300 BP (David 2017:146) I wrote about these dates, the oldest currently known for Europe, on September 20, 2014, in a column titled Uranium Isotope Dating Reveals Perhaps The Oldest Cave Art In Europe, on RockArtBlog. (Faris 2014)

Diagram of the "frieze of hands"

with the arc of dots on the right

side. Public domain.

A semicircle of dots on the right side of the Panel de las Manos has been identified by Dr. Michael Rappenglueck as another Paleolithic Star Chart, this one the Corona Borealis, or Northern Crown. One of those who had taken him seriously; Kathleen Flanagan Rollins, wrote in her blog Misfits and Heroes; "After visiting El Castillo and looking at the panel in question, I have to admit I was wrong. It's not a clear semi-circle of start but more like a full circle. I suppose that's the danger of working from a diagram rather than the real thing." (Rollins 2015) This does not seem to me to be an effective argument against the idea of this painting as Corona Borealis as there are plenty of other stars around the constellation that one can decide could be included in the constellation to make it a rough, but full, circle. I will give this one to Rappenglueck; arc, or circle - I don't see that it matters.

Close-up drawing of the arc of
dots identified as Corona borealis.
Public domain.

My objections to this theory are the same as my objections to Rappenglueck's other identified Paleolithic Star Charts. We cannot know whether Paleolithic peoples of Europe even recognized constellations or had the concept of arrangements of stars representing shapes in the sky. Even if they did they certainly would not have identified this grouping as a crown, the concept of a crown was doubtless millennia in mankind's future. Also, I still am not convinced that the people would have gone deep underground to paint star charts when all they had to do to see them was look up at night. I get the "secret knowledge" argument, I just don't agree with it. I am not saying that this theory is not possible, I am just saying that I do not see anywhere near enough evidence to make such leaps to conclusions. I see too many possible arguments against, and too few arguments in favor.

Modern star diagram of Corona borealis.

Wikimedia. Public domain.

NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the originals at the sites listed below.

REFERENCES:

David, Bruno

2017 Cave Art, Thames & Hudson, London.

Faris, Peter,

2014 Uranium Isotope Dating Reveals Perhaps The Oldest Cave Art In Europe, http://rockartblog.blogspot.com/2014/09/uranium-isotope-dating-reveals-perhaps.html

Rollins, Kathleen Flanagan,

2015 El Castillo: Wonders and Questions, 12 September 2015, https://misfitsandheroes.wordpress.com/tag/northern-crown-in-rock-art/

A COSMIC HOAX:

Station #16, Nine-Mile Canyon, UT.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1993.

Close-up of panel at Station

#16, Nine-Mile Canyon, UT.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1993.

In this column I am presenting another egregious mistake from the book Odyssey of the Pueblo Indians by William Eaton. On page 145 he presents a petroglyph panel that he calls a "Pueblo (Fremont) Star Chart". That is his identification of the well-known petroglyph panel from Station 16, in Nine-Mile Canyon, Utah.

Bighorn sheep from Station #16,

Nine-Mile Canyon, UT.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1993.

One identification that I take exception to is what he calls the two-headed mountain sheep. Upon careful examination of the petroglyph Eaton's second head at the back of the animal is actually a conglomeration composed of its tail and a couple of curved lines descending from an unknown mark that has been destroyed by the impact of a large caliber bullet. The remains of this mark can be seen circling around to the upper right of the bullet crater.

Anthropomorph on left of panel,

Station #16, Nine-Mile Canyon, UT.

Photograph Peter Faris, 1993.

On the left of this panel is a figure that Eaton calls an "anthropomorph with a six-ball bola weapon." Now this is a very interesting figure and does, in fact, remind one of a figure holding a bola. This figure along with numbers of carefully rounded stone balls found at Fremont sites have prompted this same identification by many other rock art researchers. It is an interesting speculation, but one that has not been proven. For some reason, and absolutely without any evidence at all Eaton has claimed that "the three balls may possibly refer to the three stars now called Orion's Belt." Which three balls Mr. Eaton? As you pointed out there are six.

Eaton's analysis of panel (p. 39), 

Station #16, Nine-Mile Canyon, UT.

Then Eaton went on to identify the constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and Serpens, as well as a few other stars including Polaris in additional marks on the cliff face. Unfortunately, the majority of the stars that Eaton identifies in this panel are, in reality, bullet holes put there by Anglos much later than the petroglyphs. In many places, we find that petroglyphs and pictographs provided seemingly irresistible targets to gun-toting vandals. These unfortunate marks have never had anything to do with Fremont or Pueblo Native American groups. Additionally, to make the constellation Serpens out of those bullet holes Eaton had to flip the constellation entirely as can be seen in the star chart below.

Star chart of the summer sky showing

Serpens to the left of center. From

Howard, The Telescope Handbook

and Star Atlas, 1967, p. 39.

This so-called "Pueblo (Fremont) Star Chart" is just another mistaken example of someone who feels compelled to try to force the facts to fit a theory that they bear no relation to in the real world. While I applaud Mr. Eaton's enthusiasm, I do have to deplore his methods and results.

REFERENCES:

Eaton, William M.

1999    Odyssey of the Pueblo Indians, Turner Publishing Co., Paducah, KY.

Howard, Neale E.

1967    The Telescope Handbook and Star Atlas, Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York. 

HISPANIC ROCK ART – THE CRUCIFIX:

F.B. Delgado, Signature Rock, Boise City, OK. 

Photo: Peter Faris, June 12,2006.

As we might expect in an area inhabited by a people as religiously devout as the Hispanic residents of the early Southwest, we find many crosses in rock art throughout the region. We must question, however, if they are actually Hispanic crosses or if they might be stars or some other symbols left by Native Americans.

This is definitely pertinent when the example in question is found in the American southwest where Native American and Hispanic cultures coexisted for quite some time. One clue to identifying some of the crosses as Hispanic can be found in the treatment of the ends of the arms of the cross.

Wikipedia

Many of the crosses of Hispanic origin display the form known as the cross pattée (also known as the cross formée), which has arms that are narrow at the center and broader at the ends, an early medieval symbol dating back to at least the 7^th century AD. This form was sometimes used by the Teutonic knights, a crusader military order. (Wikipedia)

The examples pictured are found in the southeast Colorado and western Oklahoma area. The Oklahoma examples are from Signature Rock near Boise City and are with the date 1859 suggesting association with the Santa Fe Trail.

Hispanic crosses, Picketwire Canyon, Colorado.
Photo: Dell Crandall.

The example from Picketwire Canyon in Colorado is from later and was probably created by pastoralists in the area. Indeed, there is still a reputed Penitente morada in that general area.

Wikipedia.

Another possible inspiration would be the Maltese cross although I personally have no examples of this in rock art from this area. The Maltese cross originated in the mid-16^th century (it has been traced back to AD 1567 on coins from the island of Malta) with the Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Knights of Malta.

Crosses, Freezeout Canyon, Baca County, CO.

Photo: Peter Faris, 1996.

I have also included a panel of possibly Native American crosses from southeastern Colorado which seem to considerably predate the Hispanic examples and do not exhibit the enlargement of the ends of the arms seen in the European inspired crosse(s) pattée. These may represent the traditional presentation of four-armed stars and some viewers have interpreted this panel as a Native American representation of a constellation in the night sky.

REFERENCE:

Wikipedia