Although neither Auriga nor Orion were mentioned in the list of the Babylonian ecliptic stations there was another Babylonian list which stretched the whole cycle around and did include them:
|
1. MUL.MUL zappu |
The Star Cluster (Star of Stars) / The Bristle |
Pleiades |
|
2. MULGU4.AN.NA alû / is lê |
The Bull of Heaven |
Taurus / Hyades |
|
3. MULSIPA.ZI.AN.NA šitaddaru / šidallu |
The Loyal Shepherd of Heaven |
Orion |
|
4. MULŠU.GI šibu |
The Old One |
Perseus |
|
5. MULZUBI / MULGÀM gamlu |
The Scimitar / The Crook |
Auriga |
|
6. MULMAŠ.TAB.BA (.GAL.GAL) māšu / tū'amū rabûtu |
The (Great) Twins |
Gemini |
|
7. MULAL.LUL alluttu |
The Crayfish |
Cancer |
|
8. MULUR.GU.LA / MULUR.MAH urgulû / nēšu |
The Lion |
Leo |
|
9. MULAB.SÎN absinnu / šer'u |
The Seed-Furrow |
Virgo |
|
10. MULZI.BA.AN.NA / MULGIŠ.ÉRIN zibānītu |
The Scales |
Libra |
|
11. MULGÎR.TAB zuqarqīpu |
The Scorpion |
Scorpius |
|
12. MULPA.BIL.SAG pabilsag |
The God Pabilsag / The Overseer |
Sagittarius |
|
13. MULSUHUR.MÁS(.KU6) suhurmāšu |
The Goat-Fish |
Capricorn |
|
14. MULGU.LA şinundu / ku-ur-ku / rammanu |
The Great One |
Aquarius |
|
15. MULKUN.MEš / MULZIB.ME zibbātu / zibbāt sinūnūtu |
The Tail |
Pisces |
|
16. MULŠÎM.MAH šinūnūtu |
The Great Swallow |
SW Pisces and ε Pegasi |
|
17. MULA.NU.NI.TUM / MULLU.LIM anunītu / lulīmu |
The Goddess Anunitu / The Stag |
NE Pisces and Andromeda |
|
18. MUL(LÛ.)HUŊ(.GÁ) agru |
The Agrarian Worker |
Aries |
I have redmarked 6 of these 18 stations because they are not in our own zodiac.
18 - 6 = 12 and 18 * 20 = 360 = 12 * 30. The list probably measured the months as 20 nights long.
... The Gilbert Islanders are Polynesians, having emigrated, according to their traditions, from Upolu, Samoa, which they look upon as te buto (Maori pito), the Navel of the World. They never counted the nights of the Moon beyond the twentieth, so far as Grimble was able to ascertain, and in the vagueness of their lunar calendar bore no resemblance to their Micronesian neighbors of the Carolines ...
One of the names for east, Makai-oa, was said to be the name of a far eastern land, not an island, which their navigators had visited in ancient times. Tradition called this great land 'the containing wall of the sea, beyond the eastern horizon, a continous land spreading over north, south, and middle, having a marvelous store of all sorts of food, high mountains and rivers'. It was also called Maia-wa (wa being 'space, distant'). This is a clear reference to ancient voyages to the American coast from which the Polynesians are thought to have introduced the sweet potato into the Pacific area. The similarity of Maia to Maya may be more than a coincidence ...
The Mayas also counted only to 20 in their tzolkin dates, in their sacred calendar stretching for 13 * 20 = 260 days. In my provisional glyph type dictionary I wrote:
| The Maya Indians had several calendars, the one I have used here is their calendar over the year (haab). It was used in conjunction with the more famous tzolkin (for their sacred year), which was composed by the numbers from 1 to 13 prefixed to one of their 20 daynames, for instance as 13 Ahau - the last of the 13 numbers conjoined with the last of the 20 daynames (Ahau). This gave 13 * 20 = 260 possible dates according to the tzolkin.
In the picture below (ref.: Midonick) is explained how a more definite date is generated by combining tzolkin with haab:
Also the ordinal number in the month according to the haab calendar was prefixed (see B cogwheel). But the counting began with 0 instead of with 1 (cfr for instance 1 Imix in the A cogwheel, the tzolkin). The last (19th) haab month (Vayeb - or as spelled in the picture: Uayeb) had only 5 days, and its highest number therefore became 4. Otherwise the highest number in a month was 19. Months were defined in the haab calendar, not in the tzolkin. |
Possibly the 20 Babylonian ecliptic stations corresponded to the Mayan tzolkin daynames:
| BABYLONIAN ECLIPTIC CONSTELLATIONS: |
| 0 |
1-iku |
Field measure |
τ (Anunitum) Pisces |
16.5 |
April 6 (96) |
| |
| 1 |
Mahrū-sha-rishu-ku |
Front of the Head of Ku |
β (Sheratan), γ (Mesarthim) Arietis |
27.4 |
April 17 (107) |
| 2 |
Arku-sha-rishu-ku |
Back of the Head of Ku |
α (Hamal) Arietis |
30.5 |
April 20 (110) |
| 3 |
Temennu |
Foundation Stone |
η (Alcyone) Tauri |
56.1 |
May 16 (136) |
| 4 |
Pidnu-sha-Shame |
Furrow of Heaven |
α (Aldebaran) Tauri |
68.2 |
May 28 (148) |
| 5 |
Shur-narkabti-sha-iltanu |
Star in the Bull towards the north |
β (El Nath) Tauri |
80.9 |
June 9 (160) |
| 6 |
Shur-narkabti-sha-shūtū |
Star in the Bull towards the south |
ζ (Heavenly Gate) Tauri |
84.0 |
June 13 (164) |
| 7 |
Maru-sha-pu-u-mash-mashu |
Front of the Mouth of the Twins |
η (Tejat Prior) Gemini |
93.4 |
June 22 (173) |
| 8 |
Arkū-sha-pu-u-mash-mashu |
Back of the Mouth of the Twins |
μ (Tejat Posterior) Gemini |
95.4 |
June 24 (175) |
| 9 |
Mash-mashu-sha-Risū |
Twins of the Shepherd (?) |
γ (Alhena) Gemini |
103.8 |
July 2 (183) |
| 10 |
Mash-mashu-Mahrū |
Western One of the Twins |
α (Castor) Gemini |
113.4 |
July 12 (193) |
| |
| 11 |
Mash-mashu-arkū |
Eastern One of the Twins |
β (Pollux) Gemini |
116.2 |
July 15 (196) |
| 12 |
Arkū-sha-nangaru-sha-shūtu |
Southeast Star in the Crab |
δ (Ascellus Australis) Cancri |
131.4 |
July 30 (211) |
| 13 |
Rishu A. |
Head of the Lion |
ε (Ras Elaset Australis) Leonis |
146.6 |
Aug 14 (226) |
| 14 |
Sharru |
King |
α (Regulus) Leonis |
152.7 |
Aug 20 (232) |
| 15 |
Maru-sha-arkat-Sharru |
4th Son behind the King |
ρ (Shir) Leonis |
158.9 |
Aug 26 (238) |
| 16 |
Zibbat A. |
Tail of the Lion |
β (Denebola) Leonis |
178.3 |
Sept 15 (258) |
| 17 |
Shēpu-arkū sha-A |
Hind Leg of the Lion |
β (Alaraph) Virginis |
178.6 |
Sept 15 (258) |
| 18 |
Shur-mahrū-shirū |
Front or West Shur (?) |
γ (Porrima) Virginis |
191.5 |
Sept 28 (271) |
| |
| 19 |
Sa-Sha-Shirū |
Virgin's Girdle |
α (Spica) Virginis |
202.7 |
Oct 9 (282) |
I have prefixed the numbers as 0 - 19, suggesting the Virgin's Girdle could have stretched for only 5 days.
However, October 14 (287) - 260 = 27 (January 27) = 107 (April 17) - 80.
Could the precession have shifted Sheratan 80 days ahead counted from the beginning of time? If so, then it was the upper horn of Taurus (Elnath) which at that ancient time had been at 0h:
| oMARCH 16 (75) |
17 (76) |
18 (77) |
19 (78) |
20 (79) |
EQUINOX |
| EQUINOX |
●MARCH 22 |
23 |
24 |
25 |
26 (85) |
| APRIL 1 (*11) |
2 (92) |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 (96) |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Ga1-11 |
Ga1-12 |
Ga1-13 |
Ga1-14 |
Ga1-15 |
Ga1-16 |
| HAEDUS II (75.9) |
5h (76.1) |
μ AURIGAE, μ LEPORIS (77.6) |
ĸ Leporis (78.0), RIGEL (78.1), Flaming Star (78.2), Capella (78.4), ο Columbae, τ Orionis (78.8)
Thuban
|
λ Aurigae (79.0), λ Leporis (79.6), ρ Aurigae (79.7)
Arcturus
|
Shur-narkabti-sha-iltanu-5 |
| ε Leporis (76.0), CURSA (76.4), λ Eridani (76.7) |
σ Aurigae (80.4), Bellatrix, Saif al Jabbar (80.7), ELNATH (80.9) |
| June 4 |
5 |
6 (157 = 314 / 2) |
7 |
8 |
9 (2 * 80) |
| 'May 8 (128) |
9 |
10 (*50) |
11 |
12 (2 * 66) |
13 |
| "April 24 (*34) |
25 |
26 (116 = 4 * 29) |
27 |
28 (2 * 59) |
29 |
| 0h |
Culminating Vega |
182 |
Nakshatra dates |
Culminating Sirius |
| ELNATH |
(*64) |
(*247) |
(*327 = *247 + 80) |
| Rigel |
(*66) |
(*249) |
(*327 = *249 + 78) |
| Haedus II |
●MAY 29 (*69) |
●NOVEMBER 28 (*252) |
●FEBRUARY 11 |
| Hyadum II |
JUNE 9 (*80) |
DECEMBER 9 (*263) |
FEBRUARY 11 |
| Bharani |
"July 2 (*103) |
"January 2 (*286) |
"February 11 |
| Sheratan |
'July 16 (*117) |
'January 15 (*300) |
'February 11 |
| Sirrah |
August 12 (*144) |
February 11 (*327) |
February 11 (407) |
At the time of rongorongo Elnath had moved 80 days ahead in the Sun year to day 160 (June 9) with only 12 days remaining to the solstice.
... Long ago in the very beginning of time there dwelt within a shell an infant god whose name was Ta'aroa. He was Ta'aroa the unique one, the ancestor of all gods, the creator of the universe whose natures were myriad, whose backbone was the ridgepole of the world, whose ribs were its supporters. The shell was called Rumia, Upset. Becoming aware at last of his own existence and oppressed by a yearning loneliness Ta'aroa broke open his shell and, looking out, beheld the black limitless expanse of empty space. Hopefully, he shouted, but no voice answered him. He was alone in the vast cosmos ...
Probably Tagaroa - with the ridgepole of the world as his backbone - was depicted inside the oval in Ga1-16:
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