Myth and Astronomy, Greeks and Native Americans
I found this interesting article on LiveScience. Apparently, an astronomer identified a petroglyph in Arizona that may depict a supernova from 1006 CE. He's using Scorpio as a modifier, however, so many readers are skeptical about whether the Native American tribe that created the petroglyph would have also identified Scorpio as a scorpion, like the Greeks did. Anyway, it's interesting, and it's here
Did the Ancient Greeks and Native Americans Swap Starcharts?
Posted on June 6, 2006 @ 08:50:23 EDT
Author Ker Than
I had a story on SPACE.com yesterday about a very cool discovery: a one-thousand year old petroglyph, or rock carving, that was found in Arizona and which might depict the supernova of 1006, or SN 1006. The carving is presumed to have been made an ancient group of Native Americans called the Hohokam.
The researcher who made the discovery argues that symbols of a scorpion and stars on the petroglyph match the relative positions of SN 1006 to the constellation Scorpius when the star first exploded.
Well, after I wrote the article, a lot of thoughtful readers wrote in with a very good question: Scorpius is an ancient Greek invention, so what are the chances that Native Americans living more than an ocean away looked up at the night sky and also saw in the stars the outline of a scorpion?
As one reader succinctly put it:
“There are three possible solutions to this: Either the Hohokam people had the same name for the constellation as the Greeks, there was significant contact between North America and Europe prior to this date, or the petroglyph is a fake and does not date to that period.”
So which is it? Is the petroglyph an example of a cosmic coincidence, a hoax or startling evidence that the ancient Greeks and Native Americans had contact with each other?
I passed the question along to John Barentine, the astronomer who made the discovery. Barentine’s reply below:
“Your readers are right, this announcement very well should be greeted with some skepticism. The identification of what I refer to as a scorpion petroglyph with the classical constellation of Scorpius is, naturally, tentative. I make my case for these glyphs representing the 1006 supernova event largely on the arrangement of the scorpion and the bright star being very similar to the arrangement of these figures in the sky on the night the supernova appeared. Historical research (e.g. that of Richard Hinckley Allen in “Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning”, Dover Publications, 1963) suggests that in virtually every world culture where scorpions are indigenous creatures, the stars of the modern constellation Scorpius were identified with scorpions and their mythology. In fact, I believe Allen refers to this constellation and Taurus as among the “oldest” constellations in terms of their appearance in history.
“That said, of course there is the probability that the appearance of these symbols in proximity to one another is coincidental. Given that the people who created the drawing left no written record of their history, it’s impossible to verify this claim independently. However, we are pursuing the avenue of attempting to date the petroglyph via chemical means. A date roughly corresponding to the early 11th century would, I think, support my claim. Also, there is as much circumstantial evidence for my claim as there is for the famous Crab Nebula pictograph in Chaco Canyon, NM, with which many archaeologists do not agree. So my announcement today is a suggestion, first and foremost, worth further investigation.”
Did the Ancient Greeks and Native Americans Swap Starcharts?
Posted on June 6, 2006 @ 08:50:23 EDT
Author Ker Than
I had a story on SPACE.com yesterday about a very cool discovery: a one-thousand year old petroglyph, or rock carving, that was found in Arizona and which might depict the supernova of 1006, or SN 1006. The carving is presumed to have been made an ancient group of Native Americans called the Hohokam.
The researcher who made the discovery argues that symbols of a scorpion and stars on the petroglyph match the relative positions of SN 1006 to the constellation Scorpius when the star first exploded.
Well, after I wrote the article, a lot of thoughtful readers wrote in with a very good question: Scorpius is an ancient Greek invention, so what are the chances that Native Americans living more than an ocean away looked up at the night sky and also saw in the stars the outline of a scorpion?
As one reader succinctly put it:
“There are three possible solutions to this: Either the Hohokam people had the same name for the constellation as the Greeks, there was significant contact between North America and Europe prior to this date, or the petroglyph is a fake and does not date to that period.”
So which is it? Is the petroglyph an example of a cosmic coincidence, a hoax or startling evidence that the ancient Greeks and Native Americans had contact with each other?
I passed the question along to John Barentine, the astronomer who made the discovery. Barentine’s reply below:
“Your readers are right, this announcement very well should be greeted with some skepticism. The identification of what I refer to as a scorpion petroglyph with the classical constellation of Scorpius is, naturally, tentative. I make my case for these glyphs representing the 1006 supernova event largely on the arrangement of the scorpion and the bright star being very similar to the arrangement of these figures in the sky on the night the supernova appeared. Historical research (e.g. that of Richard Hinckley Allen in “Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning”, Dover Publications, 1963) suggests that in virtually every world culture where scorpions are indigenous creatures, the stars of the modern constellation Scorpius were identified with scorpions and their mythology. In fact, I believe Allen refers to this constellation and Taurus as among the “oldest” constellations in terms of their appearance in history.
“That said, of course there is the probability that the appearance of these symbols in proximity to one another is coincidental. Given that the people who created the drawing left no written record of their history, it’s impossible to verify this claim independently. However, we are pursuing the avenue of attempting to date the petroglyph via chemical means. A date roughly corresponding to the early 11th century would, I think, support my claim. Also, there is as much circumstantial evidence for my claim as there is for the famous Crab Nebula pictograph in Chaco Canyon, NM, with which many archaeologists do not agree. So my announcement today is a suggestion, first and foremost, worth further investigation.”