J. McKim Malville

Pilgrimage and Periodic Festivals as Processes of Social Integration in Chaco Canyon

ABSTRACT This article examines the possibility that pilgrimage and periodic festivals were major processes leading to the spatial cohesion of Chaco Canyon and its outlying communities. Aspects of pilgrimage traditions around the world, such as periodic ritual processions, way stations and shrines along roads and trails, public architecture for performance and feasting, and facilities for accommodating pilgrims and visitors, are implied in the archaeological record of Chaco. Because pilgrimages and festivals are usually self motivated and spontaneous, there is no need to invoke political power, administrative control, or military coercion to explain social integration across an extended culture area. The article provides examples of contemporary pilgrimage festivals in India and the Himalayas that may relate to the Chaco landscape.

Magnetic fields in flares and active prominences

We study the longitudinal magnetic field in a number of active limb prominences showing fields in excess of 30 G. The objects fall into three groups: surges, caps and active region prominences. There appears to be an upper limit of 150–200 G for the field strength in prominences.A model of surges is presented in which a pre-surge axi-symmetric magnetic field is established by a line current in the corona. We observe particle acceleration in surges that indicates v×B≠0 in these objects during periods comparable to the Alfvén transit time.The strong fields observed in caps seem to run between parts of active regions in accordance with Hales law of sunspot group polarities.

The Megalithic Alignments

The discovery of the first alignment of large stones in 1990 came as a complete surprise. It is not clear why we failed to recognize them previously, or rather why we failed to understand their significance during the first three field seasons (1974,1975 and 1977) at Nabta. It was not that we did not see them because we did, but they were either regarded as bedrock, or in some instances where it was clear they were not bedrock, regarded as insignificant. Perhaps the most embarrassing failure is the Group A alignment, which appears on one of our earlier published profiles as a somewhat fanciful steep sided hillock, buried under playa sediments (Wendorf and Schild 1980:94-95). We were so sure it was bedrock that we failed to drill a borehole near the megalith. Our view of the Neolithic societies in the Sahara at that time was that the sites we were excavating represented small bands with simple social systems. Building large stone monuments was not expected among such groups.

Astronomy and ceremony at Chankillo: an Andean perspective

The towers, plazas, and fortified temple of Chankillo are analyzed within the context of Central Andean culture. Throughout the cultural area, staircases were apparently the scenes of ritual procession, perhaps mimicking shamanic-like movement between the three worlds. The double stairways of the thirteen towers of Chankillo may have been designed for ritual movement. The gradual rotation of the successively higher towers suggests shamanic ascent between the terrestrial and solar realms. The major astronomical feature of Chankillo is its solar axis, oriented to December solstice sunrise and June solstice sunset. Along this axis, to the east and west of the towers, there are prominent plazas in which public ceremonies may have been staged, particularly at the time of June solstice sunset. Celebrants who reached the highest tower on sunset of June solstice would have been silhouetted by the setting sun as viewed by spectators in the eastern plaza just below the tower. In the large plaza west of the towers, a similar public ceremony could have been associated with setting of the June solstice sun over the Temple of the Pillars to the west of the towers. The thirteen towers may have been stations of the moon for public ceremonies during the bright half of the lunar cycle. The presence of Spondylus shells suggests lunar ritual. The duality of private/public ritual, evident at Chavin and elsewhere, may have been present at Chankillo where public ceremonies may been observed from the plazas, while more restricted ceremonies may have occurred behind the walls of the fortified temple. If a horizon calendar had been developed using the profiles of the thirteen towers, it appears to have been an unintended consequence of the initial design of the towers. The monumental size of the towers is incommensurate with the small putative observing stations. The June solstice sun misses the lowest tower by 7 solar diameters, which would have been an unacceptable error if the tower had been built originally to mark June solstice. Another unsatisfactory feature would have been the equal spacing of the towers. If a meaningful calendar had been desired that marked divisions of the year perhaps based upon the moon, it would have involve variable spacing of the towers, with the largest spacing around equinox.

Visual astronomy in the mythology and ritual of India: The Sun temples of Varanasi

Abstract We use Varanasi, the paradigmatic holy city of India, as an illustration of the incorporation of visual astronomy into Hindu culture. In the city the Sun is honored in three ways: at morning worship, during pilgrimage, and as an icon in temples. Specific attributes of the Sun are symbolized by the adityas, represented by fourteen temples which were destroyed during the years of Mughal occupation of the city after A.D. 1192. According to local tradition the locations of these temples remained in the communal memory of the city and are marked today by Sun disks, lotus-form stones or images of Surya, that are set into the walls of houses or installed in shrines or temples. Many of the sites are included in pilgrimage routes of the city. With the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) we have mapped the positions of the adityas and find that most lie along the sides of a triangle which surrounded the original center of the city. The major text that deals with Varanasi and its spiritual traditions, the Kashi Khanda, gives the myths, stories and rituals associated with each of the former Sun temples and reveals the significance of the Sun for inhabitants and pilgrims. The Sun is understood to be a caring and protective deity, providing relief from lifes ordinary problems such as skin disease, infertility, hunger and the problems of old age and death. The Kashi Khanda also includes references to probable observations of naked-eye sunspots, meteor showers, and the total solar eclipse of A.D. 1054.

Masters-level education in archaeoastronomy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David

The class in Archaeoastronomy at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David is taught as part of the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology, within the Universitys School of Archaeology, History and Anthropology. This paper will present and review some of the postgraduate work produced in the course, reporting on its findings as examples of the level of work that may be expected on a taught MA course at a UK University.