Re: what is etymology? (linguistics and biology)

Ovals B C D of Goebekli Tepe as lunisolar calendars
part 3, oval B
making an ancient monument speak again, thus of
concern for sci.lang

The diameters of the relatively small oval B measure
about 8 and 10 meters, while the space between
the central pillars measures nearly 250 centimeters.
10 pillars form an oval, and a pair of pillars mark
the central space. Using the numbers by Klaus
Schmidt for the excavated pillars, my own letters
for the reconstructed pillars, and the asterisk *
for the central space, you get about this ensemble:

upper arc 16 X 34 Y

central line 15 10 * 9 Z

lower arc 14 6 7 8

(with the new interface of Google I can't draw no
more ascii patterns, so you must view my pattern
in the proportional font; hope it appears the same
when it goes online as now when I compose it)

The pillars of the arcs are placed radially, while
the lateral pillars of the central line or row follow
the circumference of the oval. All the four pillars
on the central line (not exactly on the long axis)
are parallel, vertical in the above pattern, in situ
oriented toward ca. NNNW (upward) or SSSE
(downward).

I propose the following sequence for the solar year:

16 X 34 Y Z 9 10 15 14 6 7 8 * (16 X 34 Y Z ...)

Count 30 days for each pillar, thus you get 360
days. Add 5 or 6 days for the space * and you
obtain a solar year of 365 or 366 days. Pillar 16
marks the New Year. This is justified by a stone
phallus that was placed in front of pillar 16. From
pillar 8 you must go to pillar 16. If you prolong
the line of pillar 8, it crosses the central space *
and leads exactly toward the narrow front of pillar
16 where the stone phallus had been found.

For the lunar calendar proceed as follows:

16 X 34 Y Z 9 10 15 14 6 7 8
16 X 34 Y Z 9 10 15 14 6 7 8
16 X 34 Y Z 9 10 15 14 6 7 8
16 X 34 Y Z 9 10 15 14 6 7 8
16 X 34 Y Z 9 10 15 14 6 7 8
16 X 34

These are 63 periods of 30 days, yielding 1890
days, which correspond to 64 lunations (as
explained in the previous messages). The final
pillar number 34 points exactly toward the central
pillar 9, the eastern pillar with the female fox and
a bowl carved into the floor at the base of the pillar.
I dare say this was the lunar fox rising from her
nocturnal cave, and the bowl in front of her was
meant for receiving pebbles - one small pebble
for every day, 30 small ones replaced by a bigger
one, 12 big ones by a still bigger one, thus
allowing to count the periods of time that have
passed. There were also plenty statues found
in situ; some of them might have been used
as moveable calendar markers, placed in front
of one pillar, in front of the next pillar, and so on.

The foxes on the central pillars form with their
tails and backs a quadrant of a circle each, and
both look toward SSSE. The male fox on pillar 10
would be the solar fox raising from his nocturnal
cave.

The lunisolar calendar is justified by a hieroglyph
on a central pillar of the oval D, showing a lunar
sickle embracing the solar disk.

Regards to those who can read; read more than
ten lines of a message; combine an open mind
with a scientific knowledge; don't dismiss a new
insight a priori; and consider that Sir Karl Popper
did not only ask for testable and falsifiable theses
but also for daring ones - the more daring the better

Franz Gnaedinger www.seshat.ch




Ovals BCD of Goebekli Tepe as lunisolar calendars
part 2, a simple algorithm of calculating lunations

Why archaeology in sci.lang? I would never dare go for
a paleolinguistic expermient such as my reconstruction
of Magdalenian without a solid background in literature,
art history, archaeology, and my knowledge about
symbols in all three disciplines. And I wouldn't dare
come up with my bold archaeological interpretations
without a solid knowledge in mathematics.

Let me repeat the basic features of my Halafian lunisolar
calendar. 12 periods of 30 days yield 360 days. Add 5
and occasionally 6 days, thus you get a solar year of 365
and sometimes 366 days. 63 continuous periods of 30
days equal 1890 days and correspond to 64 lunations
or lunar years (e.g. from one to the next full moon).

Meanwhile I have reasons to assume that this calendar
goes back to the Azilian period of time, and was already
known to the builders of Goebekli Tepe. Which raises
a new question. How could a shaman observe and
measure lunations precisely enough to establish the
above (practical) equation?

Answer: the equation was found by means of a simple
algorithm which I rediscovered a couple of years ago,
and for which I found evidence in the Lebombo bone from
Central Equatorial Africa, 35 000 BP, and in the Lascaux
cave (see my Lascaux thread for both calendars). Lay out
30 pebbles, add 29 pebbles, 30 pebbles, 29 pebbles, 30
pebbles, and so on. You get 30 59 89 118 148 177 207
236 266 295 325 354 384 413 443 472 502 ... days or
nights for 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 ...
lunations.

Now you can play with these numbers or amounts of
pebbles. 15 plus 17 white pebbles equal 32 pebbles,
double them and you get 64 white pebbles for as many
lunations. Add 443 and 502 black pebbles for nights,
and you get 945 black pebbles. Double them and you
get 1890 black pebbles for as many nights.

64 pebbles can be arranged as a square of 8 by 8 pebbles.
945 pebbles can be arranged as a rectangle of 21 by 45
pebbles. Double them and you get a rectangle of 42 by 45
pebbles. Arrange them differently and you obtain a rectangle
of 63 by 30 pebbles ... (Laying out squares and rectangles
are an easy way of handling large numbers.)

63 lines of 30 black pebbles each correspond to 64 white
pebbles. 63 periods of 30 nights equal 64 lunations. These
are the basic numbers of my Halafian calendar which I now
ascribe to the builders of Goebekli Tepe. Having established
these numbers, the shamans of old could observe the moon
for decades, and centuries, and test the ratio 64 L / 63 M
(64 lunations equal 63 months of 30 days). They may have
tested several equations or ratios. In the end this one must
have prevailed.

Next time: part 3, oval B of Goebekli Tepe

Regards to those who agree that the study of language
can be more than just grammar and orthography and
stately processions of parading phonemes

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Magdalenian experiment (continuation)
    ... (spring equinox Mar 21) ... may be goat demons, even if they don't wear horns. ... checking with the calendar of temple B ... pillar can mark different days and periods. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Magdalenian experiment (continuation)
    ... scene occurs on a seal from the Tepe Giyan: ... checking with the calendar of temple B ... pillar can mark different days and periods. ... pillar 33 PIR GID winter 90 days ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Magdalenian experiment (continuation)
    ... a lunisolar calendar of 12 months of 30 days ... pillar can mark different days and periods. ... pillar 33 PIR GID winter 90 days ... of AD DA MAN, 3 of AAR RAA NOS, ...
    (sci.lang)
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