Decoding European Palaeolithic art: Extremely ancient knowledge of precession of the equinoxes

TL;DR

This paper suggests that European Palaeolithic cave art and Neolithic sites encode an ancient understanding of precession and zodiacal symbols, indicating sophisticated astronomical knowledge dating back over 38,000 years.

Contribution

It provides a novel interpretation linking ancient European art to precession of the equinoxes and zodiacal constellations, supported by statistical and archaeological evidence.

Findings

Cave art encodes precession-based dating methods

Correlation between art symbols and ancient zodiacal constellations

Radiocarbon dates align with astronomical interpretations

Abstract

A consistent interpretation is provided for Neolithic Gobekli Tepe and Catalhoyuk as well as European Palaeolithic cave art. It appears they all display the same method for recording dates based on precession of the equinoxes, with animal symbols representing an ancient zodiac. The same constellations are used today in the West, although some of the zodiacal symbols are different. In particular, the Shaft Scene at Lascaux is found to have a similar meaning to the Vulture Stone at Gobekli Tepe. Both can be viewed as memorials of catastrophic encounters with the Taurid meteor stream, consistent with Clube and Napier's theory of coherent catastrophism. The date of the likely comet strike recorded at Lascaux is 15,150 BC to within 200 years, corresponding closely to the onset of a climate event recorded in a Greenland ice core. A survey of radiocarbon dates from Chauvet and other Palaeolithic caves is consistent with this zodiacal interpretation, with a very high level of statistical significance. Finally, the Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel, circa 38,000 BC, is also consistent with this interpretation, indicating this knowledge is extremely ancient and was widespread.