June 7th 06, 04:57 PM
Ancient rock carving linked to astronomical event?
APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY NEWS RELEASE
June 6, 2006
At the beginning of the wildly popular film The Da Vinci Code, the lead
character played by Tom Hanks delivers a presentation titled "The
Interpretation of Symbols" and begins by saying "Symbols are a language
that can help us understand our past." Two astronomers attending the
208th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Calgary, Canada
could not agree more.
[Photo]
A petroglyph possibly depicting the supernova of A.D. 1006 (star
symbol,
right of center) and the constellation Scorpius (scorpion symbol, left
of center). The boulder on which the petroglyphs appear is located in
White Tanks Regional Park, Phoenix. Credit: John Barentine, Apache
Point
Observatory
Download larger image version here
<http://galileo.apo.nmsu.edu/~jcb/sn1006/SN1006_glyph_800_by_600.jpg>
They announced this week what is believed to be a link between a
historical stellar event and the meaning behind an ancient symbol. John
Barentine, an astronomer with Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico
and
Gilbert A. Esquerdo, Research Assistant with Planetary Science
Institute, Tucson, believe an early rock carving, or petroglyph, found
in the White Tanks Regional Park in Arizona depicts the well-known
supernova of A.D. 1006. The petroglyph is located in an area once
occupied by prehistoric Native Americans called the Hohokam. From about
A.D. 500-1100, the Hohokam are believed to have lived in this area,
outside of what is now Phoenix, Arizona.
Until now, the one-thousand year old supernova was thought to only have
been recorded by star watchers in the Old World. Simultaneous written
records from Asia, the Middle East and Europe recognize the appearance
of a "new star" in the modern constellation of Lupus on May 1, 1006.
Confirmation of this proposition would advance understanding of
prehistoric Native American astronomy and traditions concerning the
night sky. On believing he may have found the first New World record of
the exploding star, Barentine says, "The supernova of 1006 was perhaps
the brightest such event visible from Earth for thousands of years,
reaching the brightness of a quarter moon at peak, yet to date no
representations of the event have been identified in Native American
art. If confirmed, this discovery supports the idea that ancient Native
Americans were aware of changes in the night sky and moved to
commemorate them in their cultural record. It may also be of benefit to
archaeologists trying to fix precise dates to petroglyphs in the
Southwest and elsewhere in the world, providing a rare opportunity to
relate a specific historical event to its depiction in rock art."
Traditionally, assigning dates of origination to prehistoric Native
American art has been extremely difficult because of the lack of a
written language and little continuity with the culture and folklore of
historic Native American tribes. Barentine, who studies Southwest
archeology as a hobby says, "Quantitative methods such as carbon-14
dating are alternative means to assign ages to works of prehistoric
art,
but they lack precision of more than a few decades, so any depiction in
art that can be fixed to a specific year is extremely valuable." Though
he admits, "Without my background in astronomy, I probably wouldn't
have
recognized the petroglyph for what it might represent."
[Photo]
Simulated night sky looking south from the location of the petroglyph
at
midnight on May 1, 1006. The horizon profile is a true representation
of
the site horizon, made from photographs taken at the site and placed
correctly with respect to the stars and the direction of true south.
The
supernova appears just above the horizon near center; the constellation
Scorpius grzes the horizon left of center. Credit: Gilbert A. Esquerdo
(Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, and Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory)
Download larger image version here
<http://galileo.apo.nmsu.edu/~jcb/sn1006/sky_and_horizon_1024_by_619.jpg>
Barentine and Esquerdo created an accurate model of the night sky on
May
1, 1006, to show that the relative position of the supernova with
respect to the constellation Scorpius matches the relative placement of
scorpion and star symbols on the rock. Petroglyphs such as these are
among the most durable and longest lasting human art forms. They are
made by pecking, or hammering away, at the rock surface using a
smaller,
handheld rock. It is the enduring image on this rock that inspired
Esquerdo as he says, "Standing in the desert heat after studying the
petroglyphs, the span of the ages hit home. One thousand years ago,
someone else was standing in that exact spot looking upon the depiction
they created of the star they had seen in previous nights. It was the
change in the sky that had brought that artist as well as us to that
spot one thousand years apart."
Similar petroglyphs have been identified as likely depictions of
historic astronomical events in the prehistoric Southwest. One of the
most widely recognized examples is the pictograph near Penasco Blanco
in
Chaco Canyon National Monument, New Mexico. There, a painted rock
symbol
is theorized to depict the supernova of July 4, 1054. As for the White
Tanks Regional Park petroglyph in Arizona and its suspected
relationship
to the 1006 astronomical event, the results are not fully conclusive.
The proposition is advanced and supported through circumstantial
evidence. However, chemical dating, which relies on the abundance of
certain elements in the rock varnish, could help confine the range of
dates in which the petroglyph was created. A result substantiating an
early 11th century date of origin would lead considerable credence to
the claim that the prehistoric symbol represents the 1006 supernova
event. Indeed, "Symbols are a language that can help us understand our
past."
APACHE POINT OBSERVATORY NEWS RELEASE
June 6, 2006
At the beginning of the wildly popular film The Da Vinci Code, the lead
character played by Tom Hanks delivers a presentation titled "The
Interpretation of Symbols" and begins by saying "Symbols are a language
that can help us understand our past." Two astronomers attending the
208th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Calgary, Canada
could not agree more.
[Photo]
A petroglyph possibly depicting the supernova of A.D. 1006 (star
symbol,
right of center) and the constellation Scorpius (scorpion symbol, left
of center). The boulder on which the petroglyphs appear is located in
White Tanks Regional Park, Phoenix. Credit: John Barentine, Apache
Point
Observatory
Download larger image version here
<http://galileo.apo.nmsu.edu/~jcb/sn1006/SN1006_glyph_800_by_600.jpg>
They announced this week what is believed to be a link between a
historical stellar event and the meaning behind an ancient symbol. John
Barentine, an astronomer with Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico
and
Gilbert A. Esquerdo, Research Assistant with Planetary Science
Institute, Tucson, believe an early rock carving, or petroglyph, found
in the White Tanks Regional Park in Arizona depicts the well-known
supernova of A.D. 1006. The petroglyph is located in an area once
occupied by prehistoric Native Americans called the Hohokam. From about
A.D. 500-1100, the Hohokam are believed to have lived in this area,
outside of what is now Phoenix, Arizona.
Until now, the one-thousand year old supernova was thought to only have
been recorded by star watchers in the Old World. Simultaneous written
records from Asia, the Middle East and Europe recognize the appearance
of a "new star" in the modern constellation of Lupus on May 1, 1006.
Confirmation of this proposition would advance understanding of
prehistoric Native American astronomy and traditions concerning the
night sky. On believing he may have found the first New World record of
the exploding star, Barentine says, "The supernova of 1006 was perhaps
the brightest such event visible from Earth for thousands of years,
reaching the brightness of a quarter moon at peak, yet to date no
representations of the event have been identified in Native American
art. If confirmed, this discovery supports the idea that ancient Native
Americans were aware of changes in the night sky and moved to
commemorate them in their cultural record. It may also be of benefit to
archaeologists trying to fix precise dates to petroglyphs in the
Southwest and elsewhere in the world, providing a rare opportunity to
relate a specific historical event to its depiction in rock art."
Traditionally, assigning dates of origination to prehistoric Native
American art has been extremely difficult because of the lack of a
written language and little continuity with the culture and folklore of
historic Native American tribes. Barentine, who studies Southwest
archeology as a hobby says, "Quantitative methods such as carbon-14
dating are alternative means to assign ages to works of prehistoric
art,
but they lack precision of more than a few decades, so any depiction in
art that can be fixed to a specific year is extremely valuable." Though
he admits, "Without my background in astronomy, I probably wouldn't
have
recognized the petroglyph for what it might represent."
[Photo]
Simulated night sky looking south from the location of the petroglyph
at
midnight on May 1, 1006. The horizon profile is a true representation
of
the site horizon, made from photographs taken at the site and placed
correctly with respect to the stars and the direction of true south.
The
supernova appears just above the horizon near center; the constellation
Scorpius grzes the horizon left of center. Credit: Gilbert A. Esquerdo
(Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, and Smithsonian Astrophysical
Observatory)
Download larger image version here
<http://galileo.apo.nmsu.edu/~jcb/sn1006/sky_and_horizon_1024_by_619.jpg>
Barentine and Esquerdo created an accurate model of the night sky on
May
1, 1006, to show that the relative position of the supernova with
respect to the constellation Scorpius matches the relative placement of
scorpion and star symbols on the rock. Petroglyphs such as these are
among the most durable and longest lasting human art forms. They are
made by pecking, or hammering away, at the rock surface using a
smaller,
handheld rock. It is the enduring image on this rock that inspired
Esquerdo as he says, "Standing in the desert heat after studying the
petroglyphs, the span of the ages hit home. One thousand years ago,
someone else was standing in that exact spot looking upon the depiction
they created of the star they had seen in previous nights. It was the
change in the sky that had brought that artist as well as us to that
spot one thousand years apart."
Similar petroglyphs have been identified as likely depictions of
historic astronomical events in the prehistoric Southwest. One of the
most widely recognized examples is the pictograph near Penasco Blanco
in
Chaco Canyon National Monument, New Mexico. There, a painted rock
symbol
is theorized to depict the supernova of July 4, 1054. As for the White
Tanks Regional Park petroglyph in Arizona and its suspected
relationship
to the 1006 astronomical event, the results are not fully conclusive.
The proposition is advanced and supported through circumstantial
evidence. However, chemical dating, which relies on the abundance of
certain elements in the rock varnish, could help confine the range of
dates in which the petroglyph was created. A result substantiating an
early 11th century date of origin would lead considerable credence to
the claim that the prehistoric symbol represents the 1006 supernova
event. Indeed, "Symbols are a language that can help us understand our
past."