Ophiuchus at Tepe Guyan?

 

Above are three stone plaquettes from Tepe Guyan, Iran, 5th millennium BCE (from Wikipedia). On the left is a likely Master-of-Animals. Note the triangular anthropomorphic body holding two snakes, a common Master-of-Animals motif. In the middle is probably the same deity/constellation with the same triangular body wrestling a long snake with stars in the background. But note the long beak looking to (our) right. On the right is probably the same figure again, also wrestling a long snake with more stars in the background and some V-symbols. These are clearly the same constellation, probably a pre-cursor to Ophiuchus. They suggest that early versions of Ophiuchus imagined the constellation symbol to have the head of a long-beaked bird, and a triangular shaped body.

Above is a scene from Stellarium, showing that Ophiuchus is the autumn equinox constellation from around 4100 BCE to 3600 BCE. Before 4100 BCE, the autumn equinox constellation is Sagittarius, and after 3600 BCE it is Scorpius.

Above is a sketch of Pillar 43 at Gobekli Tepe. Our astronomical interpretation suggests the bird with wriggling fish/snake at the top right of the main panel is a precursor to Ophiuchus. Note the long beak facing (our) right and the overall shape of the body, and compare with the stone plaques above from Tepe Guyan. Possibly, then, the stone plaques from Tepe Guyan show an intermediate stage for Ophiuchus, between the symbol seen on Pillar 43 and the familiar Greek constellation. We can expect to see constellations change gradually over the millennia.

Above is a version of Thoth, god of moon, wisdom, knowledge, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art and judgment. His Greek equivalent is Hermes. He is usually shown with the head of an ibis. The ibis is an ancient symbol of Sanliurfa, the city next to Gobekli Tepe.