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Re: Ariadne's thread
Posted:
May 10, 2012 3:00 AM
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River Map Ho-T'u and Magic Square Lo-Shu
of Early China (revised and illustrated version)
5) Postscript
A Neolithic calendar sanctuary on the Ordos Plateau?
The central part of the modified River Map could have
served as a Neolithic calendar sanctuary on the northern
(northwestern) part of the Ordos Plateau (geographical
latitude around 40 degrees, perhaps nine thousand
years ago). A circle of ten poles would have allowed to
predict sunrises and sunsets on the solstices (and
equinoxes), a flat horizon and a numerical model of
the year provided. The rhomb is given by the sighting
lines of the solstices. (Numbers of the drawing:
middle radius 34, middle diameter 68, outer diameter
72, inner diameter 64, diameter pole 4, long axis 2 x 55
= 110, short axis 2 x 40 = 80, side of rhomb 13 21 21 13
sum 68.) The morning sun of the spring equinox just
rose over the eastern horizon (tiny yellow circle on
the right side)
http://www.seshat.ch/home/china07.GIF
If you go to Google Maps and zoom down on Ordos
you'll see a wide plaza with a large sun emitting
long rays, along the circumference twenty flares or
protuberances, twice the number of the ten poles
on a circle in the hypothetical Neolithic calendar
sanctuary.
A large bronze drum from Dong Son, Vietnam,
3rd century BC (Paris, Musé Guimet) shows a star
of fourteen points in the center, suggesting a calendar
sanctuary of 14 poles on a circle, going along with
the geographical latitude of Vietnam and their angle
of the sighting lines of the rising and setting sun
on the solstices. 14 periods of 26 days are 364 days,
add 1 and occasionally 2 days and you get a regular
year of 365 days and an occasional leap year of
366 days. 92 periods of 26 days are 2392 days
for 81 lunations, or 17 15 17 15 17 15 17 lunations,
each period counted in the Stone Age way, 30 29
30 29 30 29 30 ... days, yielding 443 days for 17
and 502 days for 17 lunations. Mistake per lunation
less than half a minute, or a quarter day in a lifetime.
(end of China piece and intermesszo)
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