Newly discovered archaeoastronomy sites have scientists wondering if more ancient cultures than previously thought understood the timing of the universe. The announcements of two astronomical petroglyph discoveries were made last week at the national meeting in Austin, Texas, of the American Astronomical Society. Rosina Iping, an astronomer at the University of Guam, discovered astronomical petroglyphs in a cave two months ago while hiking on the Pacific island of Guam.
Several petroglyphs appear to show stick figures beneath constellations in the sky.
Chamorro people use a calendar with one year divided into 16 unequal-length months, each of which is designated by the rising of a particular constellation. Iping said stars were important in sailing, and traditional methods of navigation are still being taught. The petroglyphs have not yet been dated but are at least 500 years old, Iping said. At Paint Rock in central Texas, astronomer Robert Robbins of the University of Texas found evidence of some ancient pictographs that were used to mark the summer and winter solstices. Viewed near noon on the winter solstice, a dramatic dagger of light touches the center of a pictograph of a shield.