Petroglyphic Astronomical Observatory

3D ModelNoAI

Eastern California has ancient petroglyphs from people whose descendants still live nearby, but nobody recalls the stories behind these. Celestial objects passing overhead would travel along the ecliptic plane and change angles thru the season. This carved rock would be able to record the seasonal angular position of the sun, planets, and count the 13 full moons in each year. The lunar year is 364 days long and the celestial is 365, and they followed both. The panel faces East and the V groove at the top casts a shadow when it passes overhead at solstice onto the black line between the ledge and ground. Along that line are what look like two symbols for celestial bodies and the deep marking. Other positions are also marked at a regular spacing as the objects might be seen at other seasons of the year from a position near the black line. At least it appears to be a common style of measurment in the Great Basin and among the Ute peoples, and other cultures as well.