Who is playa circle

He proposed that their positions corresponded with a date of around BC or BC. He suggested a connection between the southernmost alignment of stones and Sirius with a date of around BC. Finally, he proposed that the table rock was a map of the Milky Way at around BC and that the stars mapped Orion at around BC. Malville, Wendorf, et al, have questioned his dates and other more colourful interpretations dating the circle to a period between and BC. They acknowledged a correction made by Brophy to the alignment of the line pointing to Sirius, but did not accept the conclusion that this produced a date of BC, noting that it is hard to be certain of astronomical alignments because of the movement of the sand and significant damage to the stones in the thousands of years since the stones were erected.

They point out that there is absolutely no evidence of settlements outside the Nile Valley before BC. The timeframe they propose is that Nabta Playa became an important ceremonial and cultural focal point for the Neolithic people of the Sahara between and BC. These people came from miles around to preform sacrifices as evidenced by the presence of hearths but did not settle the area. At around BC the stone circle was erected to mark the summer solstice, and further megalithic structures followed until around BC.

The rich burials of the Gebel Ramlah cemetery nearby are dated with a reasonable degree of certainty to around BC, and it is these prehistoric herdsmen who they consider to be the likely builders of the stone circle and associated megalithic structures. This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left.

It was constructed by a cattle worshiping cult of nomadic people to mark the summer solstice and the arrival of the monsoons. McKim Malville, a professor emeritus at the University of Colorado and archaeoastronomy expert. Did they imagine these stars were gods? And what kinds of connections did they have with the stars and the stones? In the s, Egypt was planning a major dam project along the Nile River that was going to flood important ancient archaeological sites.

But a prominent American archaeologist named Fred Wendorf saw another opportunity. He wanted to search for the ancient origins of Pharaonic Egypt, away from the Nile River. By luck, in , a Bedouin — or nomadic Arab — guide named Eide Mariff came across a group of what looked like large, stone megaliths while crossing the Sahara.

Mariff took Wendorf, who he had worked with since the s, out to the site, which sits some 60 miles away from the Nile. Romuald Schild, Wendorf's longtime friend and collaborator, remembers the discovery story differently.

He says the entire team was driving across the desert in when they stopped for a bathroom break. Evidence of megalithic remains was lying on the surface. At first Wendorf thought they were natural formations. But he soon realized that the site was once a large lakebed that would have destroyed any such rocks. He would return many times over the course of decades.

Then, during excavations in the early s, Wendorf and a team of excavators, including Polish archaeologist Romuald Schild, uncovered a circle of stones that seemed to be aligned with the stars in some mysterious way. After seven years without being able to crack their mystery, Wendorf called in Malville, an expert on archaeoastronomy of the American Southwest.

Malville says he too was puzzled when he first looked at maps of the ancient site. He knew he had to travel there in person to get a sense of the place, as well as its creators and celestial significance. They drove across the flat, sandy landscape until they reached a large sand dune beside a dry lake bed, where views stretched out to the horizon. There, they pitched their tents and set up camp.

The team had already performed radiocarbon dating on the site by taking samples from fire hearths and tamarisk roofing material found inside the stone circle. He discovered that the stone circle once aligned to Arcturus, Sirius and Alpha Centauri.

There were also stones that seemed to correspond to the constellation Orion. In the decades since then, archaeologists have continued to unravel the mystery of the ancient people of Nabta Playa, who used their summer home to observe the stars.

More than 10, years ago, Northern Africa shifted away from a cold, dry Ice Age climate that had persisted for tens of thousands of years. With the shift, African monsoons migrated north relatively quickly, filling up seasonal lakes, or playa, that provided short-lived oases for life. For the nomadic people who lived in the area, these summer rains were likely sacred. During this era before agriculture had spread across the globe, these nomads survived primarily off of wild resources.

But somewhere around the same time in the same region, people began domesticating goats, as well as an ancient kind of cattle called aurochs.

Instead, they dug up cattle bones and an enormous rock seemingly carved into the shape of a cow. The people of Nabta Playa would travel across the often-featureless Sahara from seasonal lake to seasonal lake, bringing their livestock along to graze and drink.

There was no north star at the time, so the people navigated using bright stars and the circular motion of the heavens. Wendorf himself had a powerful experience that cemented his belief in this idea. One day, while working at Nabta Playa, the team had lost track of time and had to drive back across the sand at night. Mariff, the Bedouin man who initially discovered Nabta Playa, took the wheel, navigating across the Sahara by sticking his head out the window to use the stars as his guide.

This kind of celestial navigation would have made Nabta Playa's stone circle a powerful symbol to the ancient nomadic people. View larger map and directions on Google Maps. Street View. Sorry, Street View is not available for this address. Save This Home. Waterfront front lot with spectacular views! Well maintained home in the heart of Dobson Ranch, with mountain views and amazing sunsets.

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