THE MESSAGE OF SOME ANCIENT ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOLS

FROM THE OLDEST NEOLITHIC VINČA CIVILIZATION

(MOSTONGA, TĂRTĂRIA, TURDAŞ AND PARŢA)

IHARKA SZÜCS-CSILLIK
Romanian Academy, Astronomical Institute,
Astronomical Observatory of Cluj-Napoca,
Ro-400487, Cireşilor 19, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Email: iharka@gmail.com

Abstract. Man since prehistoric times has had a close connection with the sky and
celestial events as an important part of his life (as in heaven, so on earth). Part of obser-
vations were some grouped bright stars in the night sky as references. They imagined
the forms of the constellations according to their perception. These forms were con-
sidered celestial symbols to which magical religion powers were attributed and only
the initiates knew the messages they carried. These divine patterns were drawn on cult
objects. One of the important conclusions of this study is that with the spread of these
symbols the foundations of pre-writing were determined, i.e. , over time, rudimentary
letters could develop from the shape of constellations. Archaeologically much-studied
Neolithic symbols and signs were analyzed, compared and interpreted from the astro-
nomical point of view on the following Neolithic objects from the Vinča civilization:
the Spondylus shell from Mostonga, the round tablet from Tărtăria, the black spin-
dle from Turdaş, the discoid tablets and shrine from Parţa. The messages of these
Neolithic artifacts are outstanding because they represent the first evidence that a Ne-
olithic culture, namely the Old Danubian civilization knew about the “small shift” at
the beginning of the seasons (phenomenon of precession), more exactly, they found out
that some constellations on ecliptic line can be used to mark a given period (time).

Key words: History of Astronomy – Archaeoastronomy – Ancient constellations – Pre-

cession.

1. INTRODUCTION

Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. It is an ancient science, dating

back to the prehistorical time when human creatures became conscious of the appar-
ent motion of the Sun at daytime and the apparent motion of planets at nighttime.
How impressive is to observe the sky even today, especially if we spend more time
observing the vault in detail. Imagine what an uplifting feeling it might have been in
Neolithic time to perceive an undisturbed clear night sky.
As above so below (the macrocosm - the Universe and the microcosm – the
human being) could be given as an expression of the Neolithic/Bronze Age mental-
ity (Szücs-Csillik et al., 2017b). The Neolithic may have ushered in an intellectual

Romanian Astron. J. , Vol. 31, No. 2, p. 115–132, Bucharest, 2021