Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
Black Genesis: The Prehistoric Origins of Ancient Egypt
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degrees and azimuth 22.5 degrees and at near a right angle from the rising Sirius, whereas Alkaid was 112 degrees<br />
from Sirius, too far <strong>of</strong>f to be considered a representation <strong>of</strong> a right angle. Both Alkaid and Dubhe are <strong>of</strong> the Bull’s Thigh<br />
constellation; Alkaid is at the ho<strong>of</strong> end and Dubhe is at the top <strong>of</strong> the thigh. One possible factor for why King Djoser<br />
chose Alkaid instead <strong>of</strong> Dubhe is that it was closer to the meridian, the most natural place in the sky to view and<br />
measure star transits. Now we know another reason. Perhaps King Djoser was monumentalizing the time when his<br />
distant ancestors at Nabta Playa around 6100 BCE initiated the ritual <strong>of</strong> using the Bull’s Thigh constellation to track the<br />
rising <strong>of</strong> Sirius with Alkaid. Indeed, the step pyramid complex at Saqqara, built by <strong>Egypt</strong>ian third-dynasty King Djoser and<br />
designed by the genius astronomer-priest Imhotep, is the first major gigantic monumental architecture project <strong>of</strong> the Old<br />
Kingdom and a natural place to expect to find that these <strong>Egypt</strong>ians would have monumentalized the origin <strong>of</strong> the astro<br />
rituals that they had inherited from their distant ancestors.<br />
Figure 4.8. Left, ancient <strong>Egypt</strong>ian depiction <strong>of</strong> the Big Dipper as the Bull’s Thigh; middle, photo <strong>of</strong> constellation; right,<br />
constellation as sculpted on the Denderah zodiac ceiling<br />
For now we could see that part <strong>of</strong> the answer for the 6100 BCE choice <strong>of</strong> the star Alkaid to mark the rising <strong>of</strong> Sirius<br />
can be found by considering the long-term astronomical changes in the sky. <strong>The</strong> precession cycle causes the equinox<br />
points (March 21 and September 22) to move along the zodiac at the rate <strong>of</strong> about 1 degree every seventy-two years and<br />
to occupy each zodiacal house or sign for about 2,166 years. *17<br />
This cycle also causes the north celestial pole to perform a large circle through a group <strong>of</strong> constellations in the<br />
northern sky. Today the star Polaris in the constellation <strong>of</strong> Ursa Minor is our Pole Star around which the starry sky<br />
rotates every twenty-four hours. In 2500 BCE the Pole Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Going back further in<br />
time, around 12,000 BCE the Pole Star was the brilliant Vega in the constellation Lyra. As the millennia passed, the<br />
celestial pole migrated away from Vega in a circle centered on the neck <strong>of</strong> Draco, through the shoulders <strong>of</strong> the<br />
constellation Hercules about 9000 BCE. By 6100 BCE there was no Pole Star, but the star Alkaid was some 17 degrees<br />
from the celestial pole and was thus a circumpolar star. †18<br />
Dubhe, on the other hand, which was 38 degrees from the celestial pole in 6100 BCE, was not circumpolar, because<br />
every day it traveled far beneath the horizon, into the underworld. It seems logical to conclude that for this very reason<br />
the astronomer-priests at Nabta Playa in 6100 BCE used Alkaid to mark the rising <strong>of</strong> Sirius but later, around 4500 BCE,<br />
switched to the star Dubhe when it grew nearer the celestial pole. ‡19<br />
<strong>The</strong> C1 megalith line consists <strong>of</strong> at least six megaliths in a set that is plus-or-minus 1 degree around azimuth 130<br />
degrees. Given that the Nabta Playa ceremonial complex was used and developed over many centuries, perhaps even<br />
thousands <strong>of</strong> years, it is possible that the megaliths may have incorporated more than one meaning by being directed not<br />
only to Sirius but also to other stars such as those <strong>of</strong> Orion’s belt. This possibility was in fact suggested by Malville,<br />
Wendorf, and their coauthors in their 2001 report and was discussed in our previous publication 14 in which we showed<br />
that the C1 line may have targeted Orion’s belt near the epoch <strong>of</strong> 6100 BCE. Interestingly, at that same date the C1 line<br />
also marked a very special and unique occurrence for Orion’s belt in the precession cycle: its heliacal rising at the spring<br />
equinox. This meant that Orion’s belt rose together with the sun on the first day <strong>of</strong> spring (March 21). This is extremely<br />
significant, because it is perfectly consistent with the hypothesis that the Calendar Circle used Orion’s belt as a sort <strong>of</strong><br />
teaching device for the short- and long-term cycles <strong>of</strong> this special group <strong>of</strong> stars.<br />
A Star’s Vernal Equinox Heliacal rising