Evidence of Human Observation
We have identified several works of art which are interpreted being actual documentation of the Taurid Complex stream of cometary bodies as seen from the earth during transits through the stream. In each of these instances, what we interpret to be graphic representations of comets are documented, first at an initial count of bodies, then at a reduced count, with the "missing" members shown in a different context.
On the wall of one tomb has been found an astronomical painting. This is considered to be defining the calendar as it pertains to eight important feast days. The red disks above the various gods represent those days. (See Archaeology Odyssey, Sept-Oct 2005, p 7). Our interpretation in the frame of reference of the hypothesis is that the various sized balls on the heads of the gods are directly transcribed graphical representation of a string of eight (perhaps 10?) cometary bodies threatening the population. We provide the graphic below, with a slightly altered photograph of the Shoemaker-Leavy-9 cometary train.
Egyptian Astronomical chart with NASA's Photo of Shoemaker-Leavy 9 (Montage by Author)
SL-9 was a single comet body that was disrupted by close passage to Jupiter into a long train of fragments. These fragments eventually struck Jupiter in a spectacular fashion. The SL-9 "string of perals" is in no way implicated in this discussion, of course. We are employing it as a strikingly corroborative example of a disrupted cometary body spread across the field of view. The Egyptians had no telescopes, so given the differentiated body sizes the pictograph displays, the only relevant deduction would be that those comet bodies were extremely close to the observer. We note that a 'train" of local objects is entirely appropriate given a Perigee: Zero capture of a massive body. The expectations would be that the object would slowly degenerate due to the Roche Limit.
Here we show a more complete version of the Egyptian artwork, linked to a higher resolution version.
From What Life Was Like on the Banks of the Nile ISBN ISBN 0-8094-9378-0
We are interpreting this as a "map" of the Taurid stream as the earth encountered it, complete with a "before" view (right), and an "after passage" view. The division of four wheel-like "months" vs. eight may be relevant. Of course, there are less objects in the train after. And where is the missing orb? Up on a tall pole tethered to earth, while a large bull is being lanced by the King, next to it in the sky. As we see at Çatalhöyük, the great beast Bull marauding across the landscape may be a theriomorphic representation of the comet body on a Perigee: Zero pass. The wheel charts above are suspected of containing astronomical alignment tools, tracking each entity.
The reader should note that the above graphic has the calendar-like wheels unbalanced, with four on one side and eight on the other. A map of the Taurid Complex orbit, below, suggests that the arc of the Taruid Complex's orbit is visible on the night-time side of the earth for only four of the twelve months of the year.
In Finnish, November is called marraskuu, meaning "month of the dead". Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated in Mexico on November 2. The first of November is considered by some to be the first day of the new year in Iceland. Most suggestive is that during the days after November 1, portions of the God ISIS are found, reconstituted and resurrected. The myth held that if ISIS could be resurrected, so could her followers. The event is alternatively noted as November 17th, however the Tarurid Complex actually has crossings throughout the first half of November.
Chinese Observations
The period of 2300BC is assumed for these graphics. Are there corelating stories elsewhere of many sightings in the sky? According to a popular Chinese tale:
Hòuyì 后羿 was a great archer who served the mythical emperors Kù 喾 (reign 01a-6) and Yáo 尧 (reign 01a-8) [traditionally dated to about 2400s to 2200s BC]. Or perhaps he was himself a king. Or perhaps he was a great god sent down to save humanity, for at that time we were in danger of burning up. It was a long time ago. At one time there were ten suns in the sky, and they made the world too hot, burning the vegetation, blinding men, and generally causing great suffering.
Our expectation is that some interaction between the placement of the Sun, Venus, the Earth and the proposed Taurid members would lead to capture. It is imperative that the alignments are repeatable specific points over thousands of years, as the events identified are not "one time flukes", but represent regular alignment that our forefathers had deciphered. (fear of Venus?) The marching order on the right side may include a representation of Venus and the Sun at the lead.At the command of Emperor Yáo, Hòuyì, using a mighty red bow and huge white arrows, shot nine of them out of the sky, leaving only one, which produced exactly the right amount of light and heat for the earth. Hòuyì also saved the world from other disasters. It was he who shot the six kinds of terrifying monsters (wild boars, wild oxen, a nine-headed bird of prey, a great snake, a strange kind of tiger, and a predatory beast with a man's face)Unfortunately, the more Hòuyì saved the human race from various kinds of disasters, the more arrogant he became.[From chinese tales at USCD]
The Tomb of Seti
The graphic displayed above does not represent a singular rendition of the proposed mapping by Egyptians. The two graphics below, from The Tomb of Seti , render a similar scene, with even more detail attached. The motif of the parade of gods with orbs on their heads (again in varying sizes) is revisited, as is the dragon on the ground and the bull in the sky. The pictures are from xfact's Virtual Egypt web site.
The Tomb of Seti - xfacts's Virtual Egypt
In this version, the orbs are explicitly glowing objects. The scene continues across the ceiling to the right, where the display is shorter. The 2/3, 1/3 ratio that was seen in the first graphic discussed ( 4 + 8 = 12) is present here, also.
The Tomb of Seti - xfacts's Virtual Egypt
If accepted as relevant, these pictograms from Egypt would provide a valuable data point for the time-line analysis of the cometary impacts. We hope that knowledgeable scientists will re-intrepret these hieroglyphics with this possible explanation in mind.
Voynich Manuscript
(This Topic is also discussed in the Cultural Enigma Section.)Another enigmatic document that may hold a key to the Taurid stream is the Voynich Manuscript, which contains numerous mysterious graphic images. These may well be more attempts by our forefathers to map the stream and its interaction with the earth. Here is a sample image, liked many pages of more excerpted graphics courtesy of the Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. This is page # 75v, which is interpreted by us as describing the evolution from a single element, first into two, then into 10 (6+3?) and finally into 19 (see full sized image).
The next image is one of the many celestial graphics. Again, we suggest the graphic describes the evolution of cosmic elements as the comet breaks up due to Roche limit and thermal breakup.
The wheel above may represent the train passing through the earth's orbit as they both orbit the sun.
Many of the graphics depict what look to be herbs and exotic flowering plants. We suggest that they may be yet more attempts by early astronomers and philosophers to represent the changing visions seen across the heavens as the stream performed its menacing dance with the earth. We explore the Voynich Manuscript in the Enigma Section.
Thirteen
Were there thirteen earth orbiting bodies at one time, seen by humans as "gods" or "Trojans", or "watchers"? Interestingly, the graphic above from the Voynich Manuscript includes 13 pointed leaves.From Did you know.com:
The number 13 It is believed that the fear for the number 13 stems from primitive man being unable to count past 12. Numbers beyond 12 do now have an individual and independent name but are a combination of the first 12 numbers. With 12 being the end of the line, 13 was moving into unknown territory.In Norse mythology the 13th number led to the death of Baldur, the beloved of the gods. When the 12 gods gathered for a banquet in Valhalla, Loki gatecrashed the party, increasing the number to 13, which led to the death of Baldur. It also happens that in Tarot cards, 13 is called "Death."
The baker's dozen The "unlucky 13" is the reason why the thirteen loaves that bakers once supplied were never called by the number, but described as "a baker's dozen." The thirteenth loaf was regarded as a special bribe for the devil not to spoil the sale or the bread.
But 13 is not unlucky for all. The Mayas worshipped the 13 gods of the upper world. The Aztecs climbed 13 steps to their sacred places. Buddhists paid homage to 13 Buddhas. In Jewish faith, God revealed Himself by 13 attributes of bountiful mercy (Exodus 34: 6-7). The orthodox Jewish prayer book hold the Thirteen Principles of Faith. Jewish boys celebrate their Bar Mitzvah at age 13.
How the 13 Greek Gods were invented
From Worldhop.com:
In the beginning of earth there were only two living things and they were Gia, who is Mother Earth, and the other one is Father Sky. They married each other and had six boys and six girls. These were called the Titans.
Ouroboros
The Ouroboros means "tail swallower." and is often depicted in the form of a snake swallowing its tail. Believed to have originated in Egypt as a symbol of the sun, but suggested here in Perigee-Zero as the human observation of a terrestrial orbiting cometary trail. As presented in About .com,
The Ouroboros appears in many other cultures and settings as well...the Serpent Jormungandr of Norse legend, who encircled the world, and guarded Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, is often depicted as an ouroboros. The Aztec serpent God Queztacoatl was depicted similarly, and Chinese alchemical dragons have both similar shapes and meaning.
Chinese Oroboros graphics also exist, providing for a universal historical human observation of an earth-circling phenomenon.
The Surrounding Mountains
Moe Mandelker, in his discussion of the "2300 BC Encounter", notes extensive human observations of a celestial mountain encircling the earth.Tree of Life
Related to the Oriboros concept is the Tree-of-Life, another human-observation of an over-arching phenomenon in the sky, seen reaching from horizon-to-horizon.Summary
Oral and written works comprising much of the world’s cultural heritage provide us with accounts of catastrophic damage visited upon Earth and its inhabitants. Those accounts describe mountains being moved, large expanses of the earth being swept clean - or replaced with open ocean, civilizations buried, years of darkness, the world flooded, the globe encircled by a serpent consuming itself.A primary conjecture suggests that circum-terrestrial captured Taurid Complex cometary bodies were visible to humans throughout recorded history. As they fragmented due to the Roche Limit forces, the primary objects were recorded as having given "birth" to lesser deities. Trojans, planets, watchers. Occasionally one would crash to the earth. Mankind would contemplate the transition and cast a morality tale of the fallen god's misdeeds. Could it be that the ancients' references to mars, venus, jupiter, saturn as gods were intended to explain objects that were very visible and menacing, rather than the remote objects that carry those names today?