Went to the Cahokia Mounds site and the woodhenge caught me off guard

I figured it would just be some piles of dirt, but that circle of posts they reconstructed lines up with the solstices. How did the Mississippians get that astronomy figured out without any writing system?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_kim18d ago

Tbh howd they even track the seasons accurately to build that thing

seth_carr18d ago

I had a buddy who was really into ancient astronomy, he told me the key was just watching the sun rise and set from the same spot every day for years. They'd mark where the sun came up on the horizon on the longest and shortest days, then split the difference. He said they also tracked the stars, especially the ones that came up right before the sun. That's how they knew when to plant and harvest, and eventually how they lined up those big stones. Crazy to think they did it all without any clocks or calendars.