New Conference Paper: Meteor Strikes Recorded in Prehistoric Art: From Göbekli Tepe to Lascaux
The following paper will be presented at the conference "Fourth International Symposium on Megalithic Monuments and Cult Practices", October 10-14, South West University "Neofit Rilski", Bulgaria.
METEOR STRIKES RECORDED IN PREHISTORIC ART: FROM GÖBEKLI
TEPE TO LASCAUX
Martin B. Sweatman
Abstract: Earth has endured an episode of coherent catastrophism
over the last 20-30 thousand years or so. This means strikes by comet fragments
were much more common and violent during this period than the long-term
average. Over most of this time, humans were unable to record these comet
strikes in writing. But, it seems they were still able to record what happened
to them, and when, with a form of proto-writing that involved constellations
and precession of the equinoxes. Here, I describe evidence for two cosmic
impacts recorded on stone; Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe and the Lascaux Shaft
Scene. Each is an artistic masterpiece designed to endure. The impact described
at Göbekli Tepe is probably the well-known but controversial Younger Dryas
impact. This, it seems, was a pivotal moment in pre-history, as it ushered-in
the agricultural transition in the Fertile Crescent. The impact probably
recorded by the Lascaux Shaft Scene is currently unknown. Nevertheless, it
appears to have had an equally dramatic effect on the hunter-gathers of
south-west France. One that took millennia to recover from. Both these cosmic
impacts seem to be described using almost the same kind of proto-writing and
similar constellations. Are there other prehistoric examples waiting to be
decoded?
Keywords: Göbekli Tepe, Lascaux Shaft Scene, Younger Dryas
impact, coherent catastrophism
Coherent Catastrophism
Centaurs are comets that orbit in
the outer solar system between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. They are
called comets because it is generally thought that they will develop a cometary
tail if they were to approach the sun more closely like other objects from the
outer reaches of the solar system. Due to occasional gravitational
perturbations by the outer planets their orbits are known to be unstable. It
follows that on rare occasions a Centaur can either be ejected from the solar
system entirely, be returned to the Oort Cloud from where they originated, or,
sometimes, enter the inner solar system though interaction with Jupiter. At
this point, if not before, they will typically develop a cometary tail. Due to
cometary decay and further gravitational interactions with Jupiter it is
possible that some former Centaurs can even adopt orbits that cross Earth’s
path, perhaps for thousands of years (Horner et al., 2004; Napier et al., 2015;
Galiazzo et al., 2019). In this case, their decay products, which consist of
clumps of material varying in size from grains of sand to massive objects that
are new comets in their own right, will be seen as a meteor stream on Earth.
Most meteors are harmless and burn up in the sky without significant
consequences on the ground. But large fragments can cause low-altitude
airbursts that can vapourize materials on the ground, while the largest
fragments can reach the ground before exploding resulting in ground impact
structures like craters. This process, whereby comets from the outer solar
system can sometimes form Earth-crossing orbits that present an impact risk to
Earth is inevitable and known as ‘coherent catastrophism’ (Asher et al., 1994;
Steel and Asher, 1996; Napier, 2019). The word ‘coherent’ is used to indicate
that these impacts on Earth can be correlated in time with a wide range of
timescales,
Coherent catastrophism is the
working model among cometary scientists for the origin and evolution of the
Taurid meteor stream (Napier, 2013; Egal et al., 2022a; Egal et al., 2022b;
Ferrin and Orofino, 2021; Devillepoix et al., 2021). This is, by far, the
largest meteor stream that intersects Earth’s orbit. However, it is currently
not the most intense meteor stream due to its immense age and therefore its
dispersal into a broad, diffuse ring that consists of many separate strands of
material. However, orbital intersection of Earth with denser strands of this
broad Taurid meteor stream from time to time can result in meteoric flare-ups.
Estimates suggest the Taurid’s
progenitor Centaur was originally ~ 100 km in diameter and entered the inner
solar system around 20-30 thousand years ago (Napier, 2010; Ferrin and Orofino,
2021). It is now either largely decayed or ejected from the inner solar system
because, currently, the most massive remnant fragments are thought to be comet
Encke (~ 4 km) as well as dozens of large asteroids in near Earth orbits, such
as Hephaistos (~ 7 km). Many of these objects are currently called asteroids
because they do not display an obvious tail. However, they are probably the
large dormant remnant fragments of this ancient progenitor comet (Ferrin and
Orofino, 2021).
The Younger Dryas impact
Given this scenario, we can expect
the impact rate on Earth over the last 20-30 thousand years or so to be much
higher than the long-term average. It follows that we can expect some dramatic
impact events to have been observed and endured by humans over this time. One
such event is thought to be the Younger Dryas impact (Firestone et al., 2007;
Sweatman, 2021; Powell, 2022; Moore et al., 2024; Sweatman et al. 2024). This
event is thought to have involved hundreds or thousands of comet pieces
originating from the Taurid meteor stream. These impacts are thought mainly to
consist of airbursts over an entire hemisphere of Earth on the same day,
although occasional ground impacts are not ruled out.
Evidence that the Younger Dryas
impact actually occurred around 10,870 ± 50 BCE, is in the form of microscopic
geochemical signatures of an extraterrestrial impact, such as excess platinum,
nanodiamonds and exotic microspherules that form a distinct layer, or horizon, found
at > 50 sites on at least five continents known as the Younger Dryas
boundary. The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis suggests this impact event also
triggered the Younger Dryas mini-ice age, which lasted around 1200 years, and
significantly affected many species of megafauna and the Clovis people of North
America, leading ultimately to their demise.
Evidence that the impact triggered
the rapid onset of the Younger Dryas climate change is in the form of a layer
of excess platinum in the Greenland ice sheet at the same time (within current
resolution) that a dramatic reduction in temperature is recorded in the GISP2
ice core (Petaev et al., 2013). Separate evidence shows that many species of
megafauna were extirpated or became extinct at around the same time (Boulanger
et al., 2014; Villavicencio et al., 2015; Stewart et al., 2021; O’Keefe et al.,
2023). Furthermore, it remains the case that the Younger Dryas boundary layer
seems to cap the Clovis archaeological technocomplex – no Clovis artifacts are
yet confirmed to have been found above the YDB.
One of these YD impact sites is
thought to be Abu Hureyra, around 150 kms south of Göbekli Tepe (Moore et al.,
2023). Geochemical indicators in a specific burned layer at this site, which
was one of the world’s earliest villages, are consistent with the date of the
YD impact and with an ET airburst. Anomalously thick layers of charcoal with
consistent radiocarbon dates also occur in Lakes Van and Akgol in Turkey
(Turner et al., 2010). This event would therefore have been witnessed by tens
of thousands of people in the Fertile Crescent, including many survivors.
The pillars of Göbekli Tepe
Excavations at Göbekli Tepe,
southern Turkey, beginning in 1994 have uncovered several large sub-circular
stone enclosures featuring megalithic pillars covered with symbols (Schmidt,
2000; Schmidt, 2010; Schmidt, 2011; Dietrich et al., 2012). Although originally
thought to be a remote sanctuary, it is now thought that Göbekli Tepe was a
settlement (Clare, 2020). Ground penetrating radar scans reveal that many further
large enclosures, along with a multitude of small rectangular structures, remain to be uncovered (Dietrich et al., 2012). The earliest radiocarbon dates
yet recovered (from Enclosure D) are around 1200 years younger than the Younger
Dryas impact, corresponding to near the end of the Younger Dryas period and the
beginning of the Neolithic (Dietrich et al., 2013). Göbekli Tepe is, therefore,
generally called a PPNA (pre-pottery Neolithic A) settlement. However, it is
surely much older than this, for several reasons;
i) The oldest
radiocarbon date does not correspond to the oldest section of Enclosure D
(Kinzel and Clare, 2020).
ii) Enclosure
D is architecturally very impressive. It must surely have been based on a
pre-existing template. Thus, we should expect pre-cursers to Enclosure D that
are many hundreds of years older.
iii) Another enclosure at Göbekli Tepe, E, that is missing its walls and pillars is undated. It appears to be a more primitive form than Enclosure D. Possibly, its pillars were reused in the construction of other enclosures (Sweatman, 2024).
Given these facts, it is possible that Göbekli
Tepe began as an Epipalaeolithic settlement after the Younger Dryas impact event
but many hundreds of years before the oldest radiocarbon dates yet reported for
Enclosure D.
Figure 1. Enclosure D at Göbekli Tepe.
Pillar
43
Enclosure
D is formed by eleven remarkable T-shaped pillars, including Pillars 43 and 33,
embedded into a rough stone wall (see Fig. 1). Two more even taller (> 5 m)
T-shaped pillars are symmetrically placed near its centre. Most of the pillars
have symbols, such as animals with specific poses as well as more geometric
symbols, carved into them using a kind of bas-relief.
One
of the central T-pillars, 18, displays what appear to be astronomically-related
symbols at its ‘neck’ (see Fig. 2). Archaeologists excavating the site believe
these structures and symbols are evidence of shamanism (Dietrich, 2023). Links
between shamanism and astronomy, and between Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers and
astronomy, are also expected (Krupp, 1999; Hayden and Villeneuve, 2011). Thus,
it is reasonable to suppose that the animal symbols might represent
constellations.
Sweatman
and colleagues provided a consistent astronomical interpretation of many of
these symbols, supported by a compelling statistical case (Sweatman, 2017;
Sweatman and Tsikritsis, 2017; Sweatman, 2019; Sweatman and Coombs, 2019).
Especially, it appears many of the animal symbols are pre-cursors to the
well-known Greek constellations and perhaps also to many of the earliest
Egyptian deities. Given the location of Göbekli Tepe at the northern reach of
Mesopotamia, and its suspected role in the origin and diffusion of civilisation
in the Fertile Crescent, such links might be expected.
Figure 2. Likely astronomical symbols at the ‘neck’ of Pillar
18, one of the two tall T-shaped pillars at the centre of Enclosure D at
Göbekli Tepe. Photograph courtesy of Alistair Coombs.
This
expectation is amplified by the presence of a scorpion near what appears to be
a solar disk on Pillar 43 (see Fig. 3). The disk appears at the visual centre
of Pillar 43 and hovers slightly above the wing of a bird-of-prey, which we
interpret to be an early version of Sagittarius. Using the location of this
disc relative to the bird-of-prey, which is suggested to record the position of
the sun on the summer solstice relative to the teapot asterism of Sagittarius, and
using precession of the equinoxes, Pillar 43 is interpreted to record the date
of a most important event, one important enough to motivate the construction of
Göbekli Tepe with its remarkable architecture and artistry (Sweatman, 2019;
Sweatman, 2024). The date is interpreted to be 10,950 BCE, to within a few
hundred years. Given the headless man also appearing at the bottom of this
pillar, which we expect symbolises death, this date is linked with the Younger
Dryas impact. Pillar 43 can therefore be interpreted as a memorial to this most
destructive impact event.
Figure 3. Pillar 43 in Enclosure D at Göbekli Tepe. The
animal symbols are interpreted as early pre-cursors to the ancient Greek
constellations and thought to represent a date on Pillar 43 using precession of
the equinoxes. The V-symbols and small square symbols above the solar disk are
thought to represent 364 days of a solar calendar. The final V-symbol
(representing the summer solstice) is found at the neck of the bird-of-prey. Note,
four animals are highlighted by solar symbols; the bird-of-prey next to the
solar disk on the main panel and three more small animals next to sunset
symbols at the top of the pillar. Photograph courtesy of Alistair Coombs.
Sweatman
(2024) provides many other reasons for suspecting this interpretation is
correct. One of these is that the three small animal symbols next to apparent
sunset symbols at the top of Pillar 43 appear to be a good match to the
constellations corresponding to the three other special astronomical days of
the year; the winter solstice and the spring and autumn equinoxes. If this
interpretation is correct, then it confirms Gurshtein’s (2005) prediction that
a system of recording dates using the four solstice and equinox constellations,
along with precession of the equinoxes, existed in prehistory, although Göbekli
Tepe is more advanced and earlier than even he suspected. Moreover, consider
Pillar 33. This Pillar (see Fig. 4), also from Enclosure D, displays a group of
snakes leaping from the legs and torsos of animals; tall bending birds on one
side of the pillar and a fox on the other side of the pillar. If this
interpretation is correct and the animal symbols do indeed represent
constellations, then the snakes are naturally interpreted as meteors. Clearly, snakes
do not leap from the legs and bodies of real animals, so these symbols are
clearly not intended to represent actual animals.
Figure 4. Sketch of Pillar 33 in Enclosure D at Göbekli Tepe. It is interpreted as a picture of the Taurid meteor stream (the snakes) emanating from the direction of Pisces (the tall bending birds) and northern Aquarius (the fox on the opposite side of the pillar).
Moreover, the tall bending bird symbol had already been interpreted as Pisces (on Pillar 43) while the fox symbol bears a striking resemblance to the shape of the northern part of Aquarius (Sweatman and Tsikritsis, 2017). At the time Göbekli Tepe was occupied, we expect the Taurid meteor stream emanated from the direction of these two constellations over the course of several weeks. Pillar 33 can therefore be interpreted as the mechanism of the Younger Dryas impact. In summary, the consistent theme of Enclosure D appears to be the Younger Dryas impact event. The site’s excavators, on the other hand, interpret Göbekli Tepe’s symbolism in terms of a skull cult, or a cult of ancestor worship (Notroff et al., 2017; Gresky et al., 2017). However, these ideas are not inconsistent with remembering the Younger Dryas impact event. The theme of other enclosures at Göbekli Tepe is less clear.
A
calendar carved on Pillar 43
Further
strong evidence that corroborates this astronomical interpretation was
published recently. Sweatman (2024) showed how geometric symbols on Pillar 43
can be interpreted in terms of a lunisolar calendar (see Fig. 3). Briefly, the
top row of V-symbols in the middle of Pillar 43 consists of a line of 14 double
Vs, with alternating vertical orientation, with a single V at the end of the
row. This can be read in two ways (Gordon, 2021); either i) by counting the 15
upright Vs right-to-left, and the same back again left-to-right, to give a
total or 30, or ii) by counting the 15 upright Vs right-to left as before, but
counting the 14 upturned Vs on the way back to get a total of 29. This row of
Vs then has an obvious interpretation as a lunar cycle, since counting the days
between successive full moons will yield either 29 or 30 days, alternately. A
similar counting device is seen carved on a piece of European Palaeolithic
antler (Marshack, 1972) and interpreted in the same way.
Underneath
this row of V-symbols is a row of 11 small squares. If we interpret each square
to mean “repeat the above count” then we have a total of 12 lunar cycles (which
would also be the earliest known evidence of arithmetic) totalling 354 days.
Beneath
this row of small squares is another row of 10 Vs, which when added to the
count gives a total of 364 days. Obviously, this is 1 day short of a full year
(ignoring the extra ~ 0.25 day). However, one more V-symbol can be seen at the
neck of the bird-of-prey (Murdoch, 2021). Since this bird was previously interpreted to
symbolise the summer solstice constellation (Sagittarius), Sweatman (2024) interpreted
this extra V as the summer solstice itself, which completes our count. Note
that symbols at the neck appear to have a special significance within the
Göbekli Tepe culture; they are not just decoration. For example, in addition to
astronomical symbols at the neck of Pillar 18 (see Fig. 2) we see specifically
V-symbols at the necks of the Urfa Man statue (found in Sanliurfa around 15 km
away) and a wall carving at Sayburç which is also linked with the Göbekli Tepe
culture (see Sweatman, 2024). Thus, an entire year of 365 days is likely
represented on Pillar 43, counted in terms of 12 lunar cycles plus 11 epagomenal
days.
We
can ask why they recorded this calendar structure on Pillar 43? Probably, this
was a clever device to ensure the meaning of the pillar could not be
misunderstood. Essentially, they were using constants of nature, i.e. the lunar
and solar cycles, to make it clear that a V-symbol represents a single day. For
an astronomically astute culture, a calendar that counted the days of the lunar
and solar cycles would have been unmistakeable and useful. Moreover, by
counting up to only 364 they made it clear that the final V-symbol at the neck
of the bird-of-prey meant that this bird symbolised an astronomically special day (i.e. the summer solstice) and not a real
bird. Very clever indeed.
Lascaux
Let’s now turn our attention to
Lascaux, in southern France (northern Aquitaine), and especially the Lascaux
Shaft Scene. The caves at Lascaux are famous for their Palaeolithic artworks,
thought to date to around 15,000 BCE. The entrance to the Lascaux caves is
oriented about 3 degrees south of the summer solstice sunset (Jegues-Wolkiewiez,
2007; Hayden and Villeneuve, 2011). Taking the slope at the entrance of the
caves into account the entrance’s orientation towards the summer solstice
sunset is nearly perfect. Hayden and Villeneuve (2011), in agreement with Jegues-Wolkiewiez (2007), consider this evidence for a
strong interest in solar astronomy by the hunter-gatherers that used the caves.
This makes a lot a sense considering that all resources used by Palaeolithic
hunter gatherers are seasonal and that many of the more ‘complex’
hunter-gatherer communities in recorded history are known to have had an
interest in the solstices and equinoxes (Hayden and Villeneuve, 2011).
Thus, the Lascaux Cave entrance
hallway, which is covered with paintings of bulls and is thus known as the Hall
of Bulls, might have been illuminated for only a few days either side of the summer
solstice by the setting sun. Sweatman and Coombs (2019) interpret the bull
symbol, consistent with deductions from Gobekli Tepe by Sweatman and Tsikritsis
(2017), as similar to the constellation Capricornus. It so happens that
Capricornus was the summer solstice constellation at that time the caves were
in use. We can therefore expect other animal symbols at Lascaux might symbolise
constellations as well. A statistical analysis of all radiocarbon-dated
European Palaeolithic cave art of animals by Sweatman and Coombs (2019) shows
this is very likely correct.
The Lascaux Shaft Scene
At the bottom of a deep shaft near the end of the cave complex is the most difficult to reach, secret and therefore ‘sacred’ painting; the Lascaux Shaft Scene (see Fig. 5). It depicts a dying man together with four other animals; three on the main wall (a bull, rhino and bird) with a horse on the rear wall. The bull is disembowelled by a spear.
Considering that we expect the
animals to symbolise constellations, with the bull as pseudo-Capricornus, how
should we interpret this scene? In fact, there are several similarities with
Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe. Notably, both artworks feature four prominent
animals and a dying man. On Pillar 43 the four highlighted animals are thought
to symbolise the four constellations corresponding to the solstices and
equinoxes. If the same is true at Lascaux, then we can once again interpret the
scene as a date using precession of the equinoxes. In this case, the date
obtained by Sweatman and Coombs (2019) using an assumed zodiac is consistent
with radiocarbon evidence as being close to 15,300 BCE.
But what of the disembowelled bull,
spear and dying man? Surely, the dying man signifies death, just like the
headless man on Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe. And if the bull symbolises a
constellation, then surely the spear symbolises a meteor, just like the snakes
on Pillar 33 at Göbekli Tepe. In this case, we can interpret the Lascaux Shaft
Scene as another meteor strike, this time caused by a meteor from the direction
of the pseudo-Capricornus. Very interestingly, the Taurids would have emanated
from this direction at around 15,300 BCE (Sweatman and Coombs, 2019; Sweatman,
2019). We can therefore interpret the Lascaux Shaft Scene as a memorial to another
comet impact event caused by coherent catastrophism of the Taurid meteor
stream. In this case, while the bull symbolises pseudo-Capricornus (summer
solstice), the rhino, bird and horse symbolise pseudo-Taurus (winter solstice),
pseudo-Libra (autumn equinox) and pseudo-Leo (spring equinox), respectively.
Indeed, the horse’s shape is very similar to that of Leo, while a rhino can
easily replace our modern bull as Taurus. The water bird as Libra is consistent
with Pillar 43.
While there is no geochemical evidence yet for a cosmic impact at that time in southern France, there might be some indications of an unusual event in this region. For example, Barshay-Szmidt et al. (2016) analyse radiocarbon dates corresponding to 19 Magdalenian cultural sites in southern France (Aquitaine) and the northern Pyrenees. They find (see their Figure 7) apparent continuity in occupation of the region through several phases of the Magdalenian culture, except at one time; there is a clear break during the Late Middle Magdalenian in Aquitaine lasting a few thousand years and beginning near to 15,300 BCE. This break in occupation might be explained by a devastating cosmic impact, which was later recorded by survivors in the most sacred part of the Lascaux cave system. Barshay-Szmidt et al.’s (2016) study was motivated by the apparent disappearance of specific megafauna in this region; perhaps these were also affected by the impact as predicted by Napier (2010).
Conclusion
Cosmic impacts on Earth are thought
to have been much more frequent and violent over the last 20 to 30 thousand
years than the long-term average due to the decay of the Taurid meteor stream
progenitor. We also see conspicuous similarities in two major Palaeolithic/Epipalaeolithic
artworks; Pillar 43 at Göbekli Tepe and the Lascaux Shaft Scene. Consistent and
compelling interpretations of both artworks involve cosmic impacts from the
direction of the Taurid meteor stream. These interpretations use the same assumed
zodiac and system of writing dates using precession of the equinoxes and are both supported by compelling statistical analyses. On Pillar
43, this interpretation is corroborated by the likely presence of a lunisolar
calendar (which includes evidence for arithmetic), and a consistent
interpretation of Pillar 33 as illustrating the mechanism of this impact event.
Evidence for the impact thought to
be recorded at Göbekli Tepe, the Younger Dryas impact circa 10,870 BCE, remains
extremely strong (Sweatman, 2021; Powell, 2022; Powell, 2024; Sweatman et al., 2024) despite
recent attempts to refute it (Holliday et al., 2023). Although there is no geochemical
evidence yet of a cosmic impact in Aquitaine around the time the Lascaux Shaft
Scene was painted, circa 15,000 BCE, there does appear to have been a
major and extended population decline in the region beginning at that time,
corresponding to the Late Middle Magdalenian. Possibly, it would be
fruitful to search for the putative geochemical evidence on an ET impact in
Palaeolithic lake beds nearby. Note, the Pyrenean region which was also
occupied by the Magdalenian culture appears to have been relatively unaffected.
Acknowledgements:
The author has published a popular book on
this topic.
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