Wupatki equinox marker, panel #50,
March 21, 2015, 12:00 PM,
Photo: David Purcell/NPS.
Used by permission.
A
petroglyph panel first recorded in 1931 by Harold Colton has been recently
confirmed as "definitely an
observatory for the winter solstice and equinoxes." (De Pastino 2016)
Writing on March 29, 2016, Blake De Pastino reported that the original 1931
record of the site by anthropologist Harold Colton consisted of a 3" x
5" index card with two sentences describing the site according to David
Purcell, supervisory archaeologist at the Museum of Northern Arizona who led
the new study of the site. The site in Wupatki National Monument was surveyed
again in the early 1980s and again in the 1990s but the solar calendar was not
confirmed until a time-lapse photography and video study in 2015 confirmed its
solar interaction. (De Pastino 2016)
Wupatki National Monument was created in 1924 to protect archaeological sites, and is managed by the National Park Service. The back country of the monument, including Crack-in-Rock area is closed to visitation and managed as wilderness to preserve park resources. The monument offers guided hikes to Crack-in-Rock in April and October (the website link is https://www.nps.gov/wupa/planyourvisit/crack-in-rock.htm).
Wupatki equinox marker, panel #50,
March 21, 2015, 12:03 PM,
Photo: David Purcell/NPS.
Used by permission.
Designated
Panel #50, its orientation and features create an interplay of light and shadow
at significant seasons of the year."A
natural outcropping of rock above the panel forms what researchers have dubbed
a "shadow dagger" that bisects a spiral carved onto the cliff wall,
while another shadow interacts with a set of eight circles (on) the panel's
left side." (De Pastino 2016)
Researchers
believe that because the two elements function together to measure the time,
they must have been created on the cliff face at the same time.
The
most recent study was led by David Purcell of the Museum of Northern Arizona.
They identified the solar interactions with time-lapse photography and video
and confirmed the functioning of the solar marker on the Spring Equinox. "On the equinox, sunlight does not
reach Panel 50 until exactly 12:00 local time." (De Pastino 2016)
Wupatki equinox marker, panel #50,
March 21, 2015, 12:07 PM,
Photo: David Purcell/NPS.
Used by permission.
"Shortly
after noon on the equinox, a shadow dagger starts to take shape over the spiral
to the right, while another body of shadow approached the group of circles to
the left."
Wupatki equinox marker, panel #50,
March 21, 2015, 12:07 PM,
Photo: David Purcell/NPS.
Used by permission.
"As the
shadow dagger narrows on top of the spiral, the shadow at left continues to
move toward the circles." Then "the left edge of the dagger
bisects the spiral at the same time that the shadow at left aligns with the
group of circles." (De Pastino 2016)
Wupatki equinox marker, panel #50,
March 21, 2015, Photo: David Purcell/NPS.
Used by permission.
"During the afternoon, the
shadow moves across the disks, dividing different numbers of them in shadow and
others in light. Archaeologists think this marks a kind of countdown either to
the equinox or an important time around it, such as the beginning of planting
season." (De Pastino 2016)
I have elsewhere argued that farmers do not need celestial calendars to tell them when to plant. They go by biological clues in their environment. A quote I once read, the source of which is long lost in time, stated "it is time to plant corn when the leaves on the trees are the size of squirrel's ears." Now it may be that they do follow such calendars, but that is because of religious dogma, not out of physical necessity or their own lack of skill. Such beliefs are imposed upon them by leaders. In any case, and for whatever purpose it was intended, this is another fascinating, and important discovery about the knowledge of the ancient people of that area.
I have elsewhere argued that farmers do not need celestial calendars to tell them when to plant. They go by biological clues in their environment. A quote I once read, the source of which is long lost in time, stated "it is time to plant corn when the leaves on the trees are the size of squirrel's ears." Now it may be that they do follow such calendars, but that is because of religious dogma, not out of physical necessity or their own lack of skill. Such beliefs are imposed upon them by leaders. In any case, and for whatever purpose it was intended, this is another fascinating, and important discovery about the knowledge of the ancient people of that area.
(All photos: David Purcell/NPS, used with permission.)
REFERENCE:
De Pastino,
Blake,
2016 Photos:
Watch the 'Shadow Dagger' Solar Calendar Mark the Equinox, http://westerndigs.org
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