the stones are not as large as Stonehenge or as grand as chichen itza
yet this humble spot of rocks and stones is located in one of the most profound
locations on earth
there are 10 places in the world called nuclei of continents these are widely
separated places of relatively small patches of ancient rocks that first
cooled the molten earth's crust into a single huge island called Gondwanaland
around 300 million years ago Gondwana land separated drifting on continental
plates of ancient rock bed into our present continent somewhere between 65
million and about 1 million years ago Bighorn medicine mountain is one of
these rare ancient continental routes the cutaway profile shows layers of rock
color-coded by age the youngest lying in the valleys where the Bighorn and powder
rivers run and the oldest peeking against the sky it is as though the
great crow chief god of creation coyote ripped open the earth and pulled the
Earth's core up into the heavens in only this part of the world can you clearly
see all of the Earth's layers to the Native American this is indeed sacred
ground the Bighorn medicine wheel is similar in layout to England Stonehenge
sometimes the Bighorn medicine wheel is called woodhenge because different round
depressions were the site of large wooden posts with a diameter of 87 feet
the rim is almost exactly the same size as a sarsen circle the principal feature
at Stonehenge there are five more cards spaced along the wheel rim each of which
marks the end of a spoke one spoke extends some distance beyond the rim of
the wheel where it terminates at a seventh car it was this extended spoke
that first called attention to Bighorns astronomical significance this spoke is
aligned with the direction that the Sun rises on the summer solstice once this
was established it was possible to sort out the alignments of the other spokes
that end at Karns one is aligned with the direction that the
sunset on a summer solstice while the other four point to the rising points of
the bright stars holding special significance to natives Alda Barron
Rijal serious and formal hooked the Medicine Wheel looks down from the
precipices of the most ancient times two slopes that get progressively more
modern until in the valleys on either side are sedimentary rocks deposited in
merely the last million to a few hundred thousand years
thus Medicine Wheel floats on a high island of time the world's oldest rocks
layered in reverse order of the epochs of geological history everyone has heard
of Machu Picchu 9,000 feet above sea level a place only accessible by foot a
mighty structure built out of quarried stone so accurate that not even a knife
blade can slide within the recesses of the stone but there is another ancient
observatory in Peru that better qualifies as an ancient analog computer
and observatory
the twenty three hundred year old solar observatory at Chang Kyo Peru is the
earliest such structure identified and unlike all other sites Chang Kyo
contains alignments that cover the entire solar year inca practices of
astronomy were very sophisticated and they used buildings as a form of
landscape timekeeping to mark the positions of the Sun on key dates of the
year Chang Kia was better known in the past
for a heavily fortified hilltop structure with massive walls restricted
gates and parapets but for many years the purpose of a 300 meter long line of
13 towers lying along a small hill had remained a mystery the new evidence now
identifies it as a solar observatory when viewed from two specially
constructed observing points the 13 towers are strikingly visible on the
horizon resembling large prehistoric teeth around the observing points are
spaces where artifacts indicate that ritual gatherings were held Chang Kyo is
remarkable as the earliest known complete solar observatory in the
Americas that defines all the major aspects of the solar year the 13 towers
of Chang Kyo are seen by two unique and indisputable observation points spanning
the entire season of solar rising and setting arcs providing the clearest
possible indication that they were built specifically to facilitate sunrise and
sunset observations throughout the seasonal year making Chang Kia number 2
on our list
coming in at number three is an ancient land of blood warriors and passionate
dedication to the son human sacrifice was known to be the path to divine
blessings these sacrifices were considered necessary in order to ensure
good weather bountiful crops and prosperity to their land
the life of the Maya revolved around the concept of time priests were consulted
on civil agricultural and religious matters and their advice would be
derived from the readings of the sacred calendars time was of such importance
that children were even named after the date on which they were born and the
Yucatan Peninsula there are two structures which celebrate Mayan solar
calendars and observations one is a round structure called the caracal or
snail because of its winding staircase it is the only round Mayan building ever
encountered the tower has many windows for observing the equinoxes and summer
solstice this tower gives excellent unobstructed views of the skies and
surrounding landscape in particular it seems to be carefully aligned with the
motions of Venus Venus had tremendous significance for the Maya community this
bright planet was considered a war god and a Suns twin Mayan leaders used the
changing position of Venus to play an appropriate times for battles and raise
the other Sun structure at chichen itza is the Great Pyramid the Maya situated
the pyramid very carefully so that on the equinoxes on March 20th and 21st the
north side appears holy in shadow while the west side is bathe completely in
light the pyramid has 365 steps one for each day of the year during the spring
and fall equinoxes that is when the day and the night are of equal length
the Great Pyramid serves as a visual symbol of the day and night on every
equinox the Sun of the late afternoon creates the illusion of a snake creeping
slowly down the northern staircase as the Sun begins to fall the triangles on
the staircase are lit in such a way that they seem to move down the side of the
staircase from the sky to the ground this solar equinox spectacle represents
the Maya calendar and the cosmos executed in stone
this engineering feat was accomplished with stone tools without the wheel and
by orienting the corners with celestial points the pyramid sits figuratively and
metaphorically at the center of time and space a temple the cosmos a calendar a
sundial and a giant computer the Mayans created the most accurate
solar and lunar calendar ever made not even modern man has improved on this
calendar for this the ancient observatories of Mexico ranks third on
our list sunlit entrances still record the passage of the seasons in locations
throughout the American Southwest
people throughout history and throughout the world
have sought the synchronisation and integration of the solar and lunar
cycles in the American Southwest are the remains of an elaborate culture the
Anasazi long ago these people recorded the movement of the Sun on rock
formations and in rock dwellings their edgings are called petroglyphs one
significant petroglyph is above Chaco Canyon near the top of an outcropping
known as the Jada Butte on a wall are two spiral petroglyphs one large and one
small sunlight passes over them at various times throughout the year on the
summer solstice a single sliver of sunlight a Sun Dagger appears near the
top of the larger spiral and over a period of 18 minutes slices its way down
through the very center cutting the spiral in half before leaving it in
shadow once again on the winter solstice two daggers of light appears for 49
minutes during which time they exactly frame the larger spiral finally an
equally fascinating and more complex light show occurs on the spring and fall
equinoxes on each equinox a dagger of light appears that cuts through the
larger spiral not through its center but exactly between the fourth and fifth
grooves from the center in other words it cuts exactly halfway between the
center and the outer edge of the spiral just as the equinoxes cut the time
between the solstices exactly in half a more spectacular display of a
petroglyph is the view of the Sun tagger at holy wheat National Monument two
concentric circle spirals are illuminated as the Sun rises on the
summer solstice within a matter of minutes two separate shafts of light the
first appearing from the left and the second from the right make contact in
the center forming one large band of light another unique petroglyph is this
one it records the sudden appearance in the skies of a supernova or an exploding
dying star in 1054 ad the supernova glowed as brightly as the full moon it
dominated the skies during a night and day for the people of Chaco the
supernova would have flamed above their Canyon next to a crescent moon the
chacon people recorded this event the images in the Charco pictograph sealed
against the centuries by the dry desert air are still vivid the artist seems
intimately present Chaco Canyon contains the most sweeping collection of ancient
runes north of Mexico some structures are thought to serve as astronomical
observatories or calendars the canyon itself runs along one of the lunar
alignment lines suggesting the location was originally chosen for its
astronomical significance many chico and buildings were aligned to capture the
solar and lunar cycles requiring generations of astronomical observations
and centuries of skillfully coordinated construction at Chaco there is a great
circular structure named Casa rinconada half sunk into the earth on a hill this
Kiva is a ceremonial place in Chaco and culture as well as a symbol of the
cosmos aligned with the cardinal directions the line connecting the north
and south doors to Casa Rica nada is within one third of a degree of true
north a compelling alignment exists within
Casa rinconada at sunrise in the summer solstice a beam of light from a
northeastern opening in the Kiva precisely illuminates a uniquely placed
niche in the far wall another choco and culture building lies further north at
Holy Week castle the building is aligned so that the lightest channel through
slots into the building at sunset of the summer solstice that the winter solstice
and the spring and fall equinox the light falls in a predictable pattern on
interior door lintels the solar and lunar cosmology encoded in the massive
architecture at Chaco Canyon or at joven leap the building's orientations
internal geometry and geographic relationships unify the Chacon people
with each other and with the cosmos this order in the cosmos is recorded in vast
stretches across the sky the desert and time it is as though to be held in a
mind's eye one thinking eye that sees into and beyond natural phenomena to a
sacred order the Chaco ins transformed an empty space into a reach of the mind
for this the Chaco culture is our choice for number four throughout history and
prehistory human lives have been guided by our Sun today we can analyze the
intensity of a solar storm we can understand the life cycle of a Sun and
we can witness planets orbiting a son out side our own solar system but our
distant ancestors who saw the Sun as life were just as knowledgeable as us of
the life-giving cycles of the Sun if that is so could ancient people have
performed sophisticated observations of our Sun worthy of today's analog
computers join us as we look into the five top
ancient observatories
to begin our list we selected a site that was home to ancient mythologies
until researchers confirmed that this location of monolithic stones was
actually an observatory long after it was built some four or five thousand
years ago the purpose for the building of Stonehenge was lost over the years
stonehenge became a ground of worship for the ancient druids legends purport
that this was the site of King Arthur's crowning Shirley the site had a
monumental purpose what could have been so important that people would Hall nine
hundred stones some weighing 50 tons from a quarry site 240 miles away what
need would cause primitive people to lift such stones 13 feet into place the
answer is the Sun in 1963 astronomer Gerald Hawkins looked at the stones a
different way using a computer which was rare in 1963 he noticed numerous solar
and lunar alignments stonehenge was not built for druid rituals or the crowning
of kings stonehenge was an observatory determining the winter solstice helped
ancient people know when the Sun would begin its cycle from the short days of
winter to the longer days of spring and summer spring meant warmer weather and
planting time for this cold misty land it seems these ancient unsophisticated
primitives were not so primitive after all they built a huge observatory based
on their own kind of scientific observations and in their own way
created an analogue calendar Hawkins research gave rise to the term
archaeo-astronomer a new science studying how cultures understood
phenomena in the sky and how that phenomenon was observed all research and
discoveries of additional ancient sites that witness a solar event owed its
success to the groundbreaking research astronomer Gerald Hawke
did in 1963 so that is why Stonehenge begins our list of ancient observatories
on diet please