ARCHAEOASTRONOMY AND BEDOUIN STAR-LORE IN THE ROCK ART OF THE NEGEV DESERT

Abstract

The archaeological record of the Late Neolithic – Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age of the Negev Desert

exhibits prevalent east to west orientations. This is understood in literature as an expression of

preoccupations that characterized emerging pastoralist elites, namely: after-life beliefs, mortuary cult and

ancestor worship. Such archaeological remains are generally explained as astronomical alignments and are

tentatively related to the position of the setting sun on the day of the summer solstice. Orientation seems to

be also the central theme in the oral traditions of contemporary pastoralists. While the material remains

exhibit orientation in space, the oral traditions, which are illustrated at their best in star-lore, exhibit an

orientation in time: the cyclic renewal of seasons is observed in the east to west passage of stars and

asterisms. As material and spiritual expressions of the beliefs that characterize pastoral nomads, the

archaeological record and star-lore seem to be closely related. However, due to polar shift and the precession

of equinoxes, contemporary star-lore orientates itself differently from its Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age

forerunner, therefore it cannot reflect the spatial orientation exhibited by tumuli fields, walls, masseboth and

other remains from the said periods, except in a very approximate manner. A significant precession of

equinoxes occurred in the early phases of the Middle Bronze Age. The event apparently left a deep mark on

cultures worldwide and it was likely paralleled by shifts in symbolism. Moreover, in the Negev, the

precession was also accompanied by a climatic deterioration. Nomadic mythology and star-lore had to re

adjust to the new coordinates that superseded an apparently perfect previous order. The majority of the rock

art corpus in the Negev is dated – based on stylistic considerations - to the period that preceded the shift.

However, a few of the engravings attributed to the Early Bronze Age become meaningful only when related

to the changes that occurred during and after the precession of the equinoxes. Other petroglyphs reflect

precisely Chalcolithic – Early Bronze Age realities, but their symbolic implications outlived the astronomical

context in which they were conceived and are still meaningful to the Bedouin pastoralists of today.