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FEBRUARY 2018 -
SEXY GLAM
MAGAZINE -
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constellations. Until recently it has usually been assumed that
they evolved from the fancies of primitive imaginations, but
research now suggests that they were designed as a picto-
rial scientific coordinate system. A coordinate system is a
set of imaginary lines for measuring positions, like the lines
of latitude and longitude for determining locations on the
earth. The constellations perform a similar function, but they
employ pictures, which make it easy to identify stars without
need of instruments. Moreover, this evidence points to a time
and place that they originated: about 2700 B.C at about 36°
north latitude. There are three main lines of evidence that
point to this date and location’.
The Empty Part of the sky.
There is a circle of about 36° radius in the southern part of
the sky which does not contain any of the original 48 constel-
lations. That implies that the originators of the constellations
lived at about 36° north latitude because at that location,
exactly such an area of southern sky would be invisible to
them. Moreover, the centre of that circle moves very slowly
through the sky because of the motion of the earth’s axis. The
location of the centre of the empty part of the sky implies an
origin date of about 2,900 B.C.
Slanted Constellations.
Many of the constellations are tipped at an angle to the
natural directions of north, east, south and west. If one asks
if there was a time and place when they would have all been
much aligned vertically and horizontally, the answer is,
about 2,900 B.C. Note that this is an entirely different line
of reasoning, but it yields a very similar date and location of
origin. Moreover, several of the constellations mark astro-
nomically important areas at the date. For example, the long
snake Hydra would have coincided with the circle called the
celestial equator.
Star risings and settings.
The ancient Greek poet Aratus states that certain stars rise
at the same time, or set at the same time, or that one rises as
another sets on opposite points on the horizon. Because of
the earth’s precession, such coincidences depend on both the
location on the earth and on the date of observations. Using
statistical methods, it has been found that Aratus was describ-
ing the stars at a latitude of about 36° (within about 2°) at
about 2,600 B.C. (within 800 years).
Evidence points to an origin on Latitude 36°, which is near
perfect for Sumeria (the civilization from which Babylon
inherited much of its science). Accordingly, the Sumerians
are currently credited with originating the constellations. It is
important to recognise that the Sumerians also divided both
time and space with the Hexadecimal system resulting in a
360° division of the globe and heavens.
Of particular interest in relation to this is is the location of
the capital city of the Assyrian empire (Nimrud), which was
founded by King Shalmaneser I (1274 BC – 1245 BC). It
became the Assyrian religious capital in 875 BC by Ashurna-
sirpal II. It also happens to be be placed 6° to the North and
12° to the East of the Egyptian anchor point of Giza/Heliopo-
lis revealing the complex system of geodetic placement in
operation at that time (based on a 360° division of the globe).
Perhaps also no coincidence that the longitude of Nimrud is
also the same as the exterior angle of both Snoferu’s pyra-
mids.
The Lascaux Planetarium.
Near to the entrance of the Lascaux cave complex is a mag-
nificent painting of a bull. Hanging over its shoulder is what
appears (to us) to be a map of the Pleiades, the cluster of stars
sometimes called the Seven Sisters. Inside the bull painting,
there are also indications of spots that may be a representa-
tion of other stars found in that region of sky. Today, this
region forms part of the constellation of Taurus the bull.
In recent years, new research has suggested that the Lascaux
paintings may incorporate prehistoric star charts. Dr Michael
Rappenglueck of the University of Munich argued that some
of the non-figurative dot clusters and dots within some of
the figurative images correlate with the constellations of
Taurus, The Pleiades and the grouping known as the “Sum-
mer Triangle”. Based on her own study of the astronomical
significance of Bronze Age petroglyphs in the Vallée des
Merveilles and her extensive survey of other prehistoric cave
painting sites in the region — most of which appear to have
been specifically selected because the interiors are illumi-
nated by the setting sun on the day of the winter solstice —
French researcher Chantal Jègues-Wolkiewiez has further
proposed that the gallery of figurative images in the Great
Hall represents an extensive star map and that key points on
major figures in the group correspond to stars in the main
constellations as they appeared in the Palaeolithic leading to
the remarkable suggestion of a direct transfer of information
for over 17,000 years.