... The earliest depiction that has been linked to the constellation of Orion is a prehistoric (Aurignacian) mammoth ivory carving found in a cave in the Ach valley in Germany in 1979. Archaeologists have estimated it to have been fashioned approximately 32,000 to 38,000 years ago ... The artist cut, smoothed and carved one side (A) and finely notched the other side (B) and the edges. Side A contains the half-relief of an anthropoidal figure, either human or a human-feline hybrid, known as the 'adorant' because its arms are raised as if in an act of worship.

Egyptian jubilation

Phoenician he

Greek epsilon

Ε (ε)

Wikipedia points at the Egyptian gesture with arms held high as a Sign of jubilation, which may have been the origin (via Phoenician he) of epsilon.

On side B together with the four edges is a series of notches that are clearly set in an intentional pattern. The edges contain a total of 39 notches in groups of 6, 13, 7 and 13. A further 49 notches on side B are arranged in four vertical lines of 13, 10, 12 and 13 respectively plus a further notch that could be in either of the middle two lines ... The grouping of the notches on the plate suggests a time-related sequence. The total number of notches (88) not only coincides with the number of days in 3 lunations (88.5) but also approximately with the number of days when the star Betelgeuse (α Ori) disappeared from view each year between its heliacal set (about 14 days before the spring equinox around 33,000 BP) and its heliacal rise (approximately 19 days before the summer solstice). Conversely, the nine-month period when Orion was visible in the sky approximately matched the duration of human pregnancy, and the timing of the heliacal rise in early summer would have facilitated a ‘rule of thumb’ whereby, by timing conception close to the reappearance of the constellation, it could be ensured that a birth would take place after the severe winter half-year, but leaving enough time for sufficient nutrition of the baby before the beginning of the next winter. There is a resemblance between the anthropoid on side A and the constellation Orion. None of these factors is convincing when taken in isolation, because of the high probability that apparently significant structural and numerical coincidences might have arisen fortuitously. However, taken together they suggest that the anthropoid represented an asterism equivalent to today’s constellation of Orion, and that the ivory plate as a whole related to a system of time reckoning linked to the moon and to human pregnancy. If so, then ethnographic comparisons would suggest that the Geißenklösterle culture related their ‘anthropoid’ asterism to perceived cycles of cosmic power and fertility ...

At the time of the Bull 'the Moist One' (the 8th star pillar, Ana-varu) would have risen heliacally in APRIL 14 (104) which was 16 right ascension days after MARCH 29 (88).

And at the time of rongorongo Ana-mua (Antares, the first star pillar) rose heliacally in day 329 (November 29), i.e. 329 - 64 = 265 (SEPTEMBER 22) = 88 + 6 * 29½.

ARIES:
1	Ashvini wife of the Ashvins	β and γ Arietis Sheratan and Mesarthim	Horse's head	April 17 (107)
2	Bharani the bearer	35, 39, and 41 Arietis Musca Borealis	Yoni, the female organ of reproduction	May 1 (121)
TAURUS:
3	Krittikā the nurses of Kārttikeya	M 45 Tauri The Pleiades	Knife or spear	May 15 (135)
4	Rohini the red one	α Tauri Aldebaran	Cart or chariot, temple, banyan tree	May 28 (148)
ORION:
5	Mrigashīrsha the deer's head	λ, φ¹, and φ² Orionis Heka	Stag's head	June 12 (163)
6	Ardra the moist one	α Orionis Betelgeuze	Teardrop, diamond, a human head	June 17 (88 + 80)

Varu. 1. To cut one's hair (te puoko). 2. To shave. 3. To paint, to put on make-up: he varu te kiea. Varu a-roto, to have diarrhoea. Vanaga. 1. Eight. 2. To shave, to remove the beard, to shear, to clip, to rasp, a plane. Varuvaru, to peel, to remove the bark, to plane, to scrape, to shear. Churchill.

Varua. Spirit, soul; sleep, dream. This is a Tahitian word, but the same term may have been used in ancient times. Vanaga. In Bierbach the accumulated evidence connected varua with mummification and how the hair was removed (varu), the body fluids drained (varu a-roto) and after a period of 2 months it was make-up time (he varu te kiea):

... Embalming is known and practised with surprising skill in one particular family of chiefs. Unlike the Egyptian method, as described by Herodotus, it is performed in Samoa exclusively by women. The viscera being removed and buried, they, day after day, anoint the body with a mixture of oil and aromatic juices. To let the fluids escape, they continue to puncture the body all over with fine needles. In about two months, the process of desiccation is completed. The hair, which had been cut and laid aside at the commencement of the operation, is now glued carefully on to the scalp by a resin from the bush. The abdomen is filled up with folds of native cloth; the body is wrapped up with folds of the same material, and laid out on a mat, leaving the hands, face, and head exposed ...