A NORTH AMERICAN STONEHENGE

1. Stonehenge, the Egyptian pyramids and the Mayan temples were more than monuments. Like giant calendars, they marked for their builders and users the first day of summer. When the precise astronomical alignments of these monuments were first noted, some researchers were skeptical. They doubted that ancient peo­ples, especially those who built Stonehenge, had the astronomical sophistication necessary to design and use such devices. Increas­ingly, however, the evidence suggests that they did. It now appears that even the nomadic Plains Indians of North America had their own Stonehenge – the Big Horn Medicine Wheel.

2. The Medicine Wheel is a pattern of stones laid out on the ground just above the timberline in the Big Horn Mountains of northern Wyoming. The pattern is that of an imperfect circle with a diameter of about 25 meters. In the center of the circle is a cairn or pile of stones about four meters in diameter. From this hub 28 spokes or lines of stones radiate and connect with the outer wheel. Six smaller circular cairns are unevenly situated around the rim. Considering that the Plains Indians built almost no stone mon­uments, this is a very elaborate structure.

3. Tree-ring analysis of a piece of wood found in one of the cairns dates the wheel at about 1760. Construction of the wheel is attributed to the Plains Indians, all of whom lived in the area and for whom the Big Horn Mountains had a special significance. The wheel was first investigated by whites in the late 19th century but its purpose has remained a mystery. Now, astronomer John A. Eddy suggests that the Big Horn wheel may have been a primitive astronomical observatory.

4. Eddy has studied the alignments of the wheel and its cairns and has made observations at the Big Horn site during the past two summers. He explains that the high altitude (9,640 feet) and the clear horizons of the site make possible the viewing of sunrise and sunset at the summer solstice. The view from one cairn, for instance, across the center cairn marks the point on the horizon where the sun will rise on the first day of summer (an important piece of information to a nomadic people whose livelihood de­pended on a knowledge of the seasons).

5. The 28 spokes, suggests Eddy, could have been used as day counters for lunar intervals. The remaining cairns, he says, may have been used to mark the rising points of various bright stars at the time of solstice. Such observations would have served to dou­ble check and increase the precision of the sunrise method.

6. Eddy's explanation works, but it raises some questions. How useful, for instance, is such an inhospitable wind- and snowswept site for observing sunrises? At solstice in 1972, one morning out of three was clear at sunrise. In 1973, three mornings out of four were clear. So this site, says Eddy, is probably as good as Stonehenge.

7. The other problem has to do with the authenticity of the site. One writer has suggested that the entire structure was redesigned and relaid by US Forest Rangers, using different stones, between 1931 and 1955. But Eddy considers this suggestion unsubstanti­ated. He admits that the structure could have been altered by vis­itors because it was not protected until 50 years ago. But compar­isons of the present-day site with old photographs show that the general appearance of the Big Horn wheel has not changed since 1905.

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