Image of Inverted World Tree on the Stone Slab and Vessels of the Bronze Age

TL;DR

This study analyzes petroglyphs and vessel images of an inverted World Tree from the Bronze Age, revealing their possible astronomical and mythological significance related to sacred geography and celestial navigation.

Contribution

It provides a novel interpretation of Bronze Age petroglyphs and vessels as representations of the inverted World Tree symbolizing the North and celestial paths.

Findings

Petroglyph 'tree' marks the North direction and simulates the North Pole projection.

Inverted tree images on vessels likely symbolize circumpolar stars and constellations.

The World Tree is associated with mythological ideas of sacred geography and celestial navigation.

Abstract

The article presents the results of the study of petroglyphs on a unique stone slab discovered near the kurgan 1 of the kurgan field Varvarinsky I (Rostov Oblast, Russia). Analysis of features of the location and style of petroglyph "tree" showed that the branches could determine semi-minor semiaxes m of the "dial" ellipses of analemmatic sundials with semi-major axis M = 24.2 cm for medium and high (northern) latitudes up to the North Pole and "tree" marks the direction to the North. The desire to construct a tool with which it was possible to build a "dial" for analemmatic sundial for different latitude up to the latitude of the North Pole could appear under the influence of the dominant mythological ideas about sacred geography of the surrounding world in which the North is the World Mountain, World Tree or the abode of the gods. In the article the authors conclude that the petroglyph "tree" on Varvarinsky slab marks the direction to the North as a projection of the North Pole of the world on the earth's surface, which simulates the slab. Petroglyph is an image of an inverted World Tree, when viewed from the gnomon / man. The trunk of the Tree corresponds to the astronomical world axis, and its branches symbolize the visible daily path of the Sun and, perhaps, the night paths of stars across the sky at different latitudes. During the research was carried out a comparative analysis of the petroglyph "tree" with images of the inverted tree on the Srubna vessels. According to the analysis it was concluded that a mythical World Tree of Srubna population is likely to be a tree of pine family. Sign of the inverted tree on the Srubna vessels has been interpreted by as a symbol of the direction of the North and / or the north pole of the world; and accompanying signs were interpreted as symbols of circumpolar stars and constellations (asterisms).