Building Stonehenge, the Beginning (1 of 2)

During the Neolithic Period (5000 – 1000 BCE), along the Atlantic coast of Europe and in the British Isles, local peoples built and maintained great stone circles and megaliths. This activity started about 5000 BCE and continued on to about 2500 BCE. One of the last monuments to be built, Stonehenge was constructed in three distinct phases over a 1,500 year period, starting in 3000 BCE. The process of building this monument included digging large ditches as well as erecting the more famous stones. In the case of Stonehenge, three different cultures added their particular refinements to this monument.

When discussing Stonehenge, people often forget to place this monument in a greater cultural context. Nearby Stonehenge is a similar stone monument at Avebury, which was built around 2500 BCE. Meanwhile, there are signs of a similar circle at Durrington Walls, which was believed to be built before Avebury.  These megaliths, built by Neolithic peoples, had multiple uses. The purposes that archeologists believed that Stonehenge was used for included: worshipping the Ancestors, watching the heavens, and marking the cycles of the sun and other astronomical occurrences.

The building of Stonehenge can be regarded in the same light as the building of a Gothic cathedral. From the beginning of the project, the entire community is dedicated to seeing the building finished. Everyone involved understood that this construction project would take several generations to complete. Therefore, the entire community dedicated themselves to the process, and organized themselves accordingly. Some people regarded it as a fulfilling of their religious duties, while for others it was their community obligations. Though the specific vision may have been altered through the years, the newer residents of the community resolved to finish the original project.

The first group to shape Stonehenge into what we know today was the Windmill Hill People. Thought to be semi-nomadic hunters and gatherers, these people also grew some crops. What archeologists noted about these people was their propensity to orient their burials and monuments in the east-west axis. These directions were important to them, perhaps because of the rising and setting of the sun.

Archeoastronomy: Ancient Timekeeping

Timekeeping in prehistoric times focused on survival. To stay alive, well-fed and safe, people had to make sense of the various periodic clues in their environment. They developed calendars to time their activities to what was happening in their environment. From watching the seasons of the sun and the phases of the moon, people constructed a map of the cycles of nature. Other people used the changing stars of the night sky as well. For example, peoples of Australia watched for Arcturus, the star, to rise in the northeast sky, so that they could gather the wood-ant larva for food. Meanwhile, the !Kung of the arid Kalahari watched for the star Capella to rise in the evening sky for the advent of the rainy season.

 Calendars enabled people to focus on what they need to do to survive. In northern Maine, my family timed various chores by the calendar. March was sugaring season, when the stronger sun caused the sap to rise in trees. In April, people prepared for the ice to break on the Kennebec River to ship their lumber downstream. (This practice ended in the mid-1970s.) Then in June, berry picking season began for making jams and jellies for the coming winter. June was strawberries, July raspberries, August blueberries, and finally September blackberries. Then in September, we laid in logs for the woodstoves for heat during the winter.

Another part of human survival was conducting religious rites to ensure good relations with the Other Worldly Powers since the Gods were essential to their well-being. Calendars were used to keep these rites in sync with nature. For example, the Romans held Liberalia near the spring equinox to celebrate Liber, who governed plant fertility. When the pastures became green in April, the Romans asked the Pales to protect their livestock. The festival of Parilia (in honor of the Pales) was held to cleanse sheep before sending them out to graze.  During the dry hot days of August, the Volcanalia was held to pray to Vulcan, the God of Fire, to be merciful and quiet.
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Works Used:
Adkins, Lesley and Roy Adkins, “Dictionary of Roman Religion,” Oxford University Press: N.Y., 1996.
Aveni, Anthony, “People and the Sky,” Thames & Hudson: N.Y, 2008.
Magli, Giulio, “Mysteries and Discoveries of Archaeoastronomy,” Copernicus Books: N.Y., 2009.

Deep Ancestors: Wisdom (2 of 2)

Life on the Earth was pushed to the edge of extinction at least five times.  The worst happened about 250 million years ago (mya) when 90 percent of life was wiped out.  However, our Deep Ancestors survived the Great Dying of the Permian Period to repopulate the Earth.  We, the Living today, are the result of their endurance, and ability to change.

Our Deep Ancestors are more than simply interesting animals.  They may seem far removed from us, but we carry Them inside of ourselves, as a part of our DNA.  We would do well to listen and gain wisdom from Them especially on how to adapt to the changing times.

NOTES:

Tracing Ancestors: The tracing of human ancestry, from prehistory to the present, is not a linear process.  At present, the fossil records are incomplete to accomplish this.  Instead, paleontologists will zigzag from known fossils to known fossils, and guess at the gaps in-between.

Mass Extinction: A mass extinction event occurs when there is a sharp decrease in the diversity and abundance of life on earth.  This usually happens when undue stress is placed on living things because of a changing environment.  The “official zoological definition” is the decrease of two to five taxa such as Classes or Orders.  Generally, this means that at least ten percent of all families, forty percent of all genera (genus), and seventy percent of all species die out at one time.

Major Mass Extinction Events:  There were five major extinction events in the earth’s history.  The most severe was the Permian-Triassic Event (258 mya).  Known as “The Great Dying”, 57 percent of all families, 83 percent of all general, and at least 90 percent of all species died out.  In addition, this extinction event ended the primacy of mammal-like reptiles and ushered in the Age of Dinosaurs.

The second worst extinction event was the Ordovician-Silurian Event (443 mya), when 27 percent of all families and 57 percent of all genera died out.  The only mass extinction of insects occurred at this time.  After this event came the diversification of land species and new ecosystems.

The other extinction events were the Late Devonian Event (19 percent families, 50 percent genera, and 70 percent species, 354 mya) when the trilobites disappeared.  The Triassic-Jurassic Event (23 percent families and 48 percent genera, 206 mya) saw the end of large amphibians and many mammal-like reptiles.  The well-known Cretaceous-Paleogene (Tertiary) Event (17 percent families, 50 percent genera, and 75 percent species, 65 mya) wiped out the dinosaurs and gave rise to the Age of Mammals.

WORKS USED:

Haines, Tim and Paul Chambers, “The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life”, Firefly: Ontario, 2006.

Pianka, Eric and Laurie Vitt, “Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity”, University of California, Berkeley, 2003.

Turner, Alan, “National Geographic Prehistoric Mammals”, National Geographic Society, Washington D.C., 2004.

Various, “Prehistoric Life”, Dorling Kindersley, New York, 2009.

DEEP ANCESTORS: Wisdom (1 of 2)

Many of us consider our Ancestors for only a few generations back.  Some people do go further back but few will go beyond early “cave” Ancestors.  But, why not consider the Ancestors of “Deep Time,” the Ones who lived before Humans?  Since as a species, we would not have come into being without Them, We have their lives are encoded in our genes.

I learned more about these Ancient Animals after my traumatic brain injury.  Because I have a connection with animals, Mother Tyrannosaurus rex helped me to recover from my accident.  Like many people, I wanted to learn more from the Dinosaurs.  However, They told me to trace my human line back in time, before coming back to Them. By going back 700 million years to the Precambrian Supereon, I met many of these Ancient Beings who have messages for the Living today.

Why should we listen to these Ancient Ones?  Knowing Them would give us perspectives on life that Living Animals cannot.  Furthermore, these Deep Ancestors connect us to our Earth and to the Other Animals who live with us.  Also the secrets of life lie within these Ancient Animals, from whom we can discover how we are a part of the Great Chain of Being. 

These Ancient Dead can help us to understand our Human Ancestors, and the choices that They made in their lives.  Moreover, we can apply to our World today, their knowledge from their Lost Worlds.  From Them, We can learn how the Past becomes the Future.  Why did a Fish decide to walk on land?  Why would a Primate walk upright?  What further guidance will we receive from our Deep Ancestors?

Our Deep Ancestors show us how to take the long view of time.  What may seem like a disaster in the short-run, will turn out to be an impetus to a significant change.  To meet the challenges that They faced, these Ancient Animals transformed Themselves.  They teach us that if we prevent change, we will become extinct. 

What these Ancient Animals teach people is that “Extinction Happens.”  The Great Cycle of Life, Death, and Rebirth is played out on a grand scale throughout the Earth’s history.  Extinction clears out everything to allow the next generation to come into being.  New life will appear in the changed world, while the older life will shape-shift into something better.  For example after the demise of the Dinosaurs, the Mammals multiplied and flourished.  Meanwhile, some of the Dinosaurs transformed into the Birds of today.