If the map has east at the top, as the convention was, the rock cleft along the top may picture the Nile River, and the royal group faces south, towards upper Egypt. The general subconscious theme is type 13c Basket Head, confirmed by crops (woven texture), and perhaps a shrine site (oracle). The two axial grids touch and share at only two points, as is common among double imprints (but see more shared points in some Ice Age engravings with doubled structures in Furter 2014). The engraving could be a mere herder’s doodle, but the rock artist was subconsciously inspired by archetypal structure, as usual. Abstract and semi-abstract shapes express the typological set, and the axial grid, as well as some polar features at the two centres, just as fully figurative art does (Furter 2016a).
Art, including rock art, is never only logical or practical. This article demonstrates that some of the subconscious archetypal features, and the axial grid between the focal points, are much more standaradised and readable than the conscious ‘programme’ of the artist is. A similar semi-abstract rock art engraving at Val Camonica in Italy, has been interpreted as ploughed and planted fields (Furter 2020). U-shaped fields are easier to work than rectangular fields.
If this map included some astrological features (as Michael Ledo had proposed), the royal or goddess Neith could picture a macro-constellation including Cancer as her head, Leo as her chest, Virgo as her midriff, and Libra as her hut or field. But very few rock art works include hour decans, and even fewer include constellations. All artworks, myths, rituals, built sites, and emblematic sets contain cosmic elements, thus the cosmos does not come from the sky, but is also in the sky.
Characters in the Kharga oasis abstract rock engraving LEFT CYCLE, with blue axes (noting archetypal features in brackets):
02 Builder; Hut (build, weave of 2c) or Field?
03 Queen; Hut (spring, weave of 2c) or Field?
04 King; Two (twin) huts or fields? (field).
05 Priest; Staff? At a hut or field.
05c Basket Tail; Small ?
06 Exile; Corral A, far from the centre (egress), at water?
07 Child; Corral B, at water?
07g Gal.Centre; Three marks, at water? (water), near a boundary (juncture).
09 Healer; Corral C, behind the pharaoh, perhaps a tax field.
09c Basket Lid; Hut (weave) or field (weave) below the pharaoh.
10 Teacher; Staff (staff) with animal head, perhaps canid?
11 Womb; Midriff (womb) of the pharaoh or goddess Neith or Ishtar, on a palace gate serekh and a tax field (crops).
13 Heart; Chest (heart) of the pharaoh or goddess Neith or Ishtar (war).
13c Basket Head; Elephant head (head). And royal or baby Horus (head).
14 Mixer; Pharaoh or goddess Neith or Ishtar.
15 Maker; Two (doubled) dots, perhaps lamb corrals, or tax corrals (smite, order), or the head of a royal staff? (sceptre). This type is also in the sky as Gemini, with two main stars.
15g Gal.Gate; ? Boundary (juncture), on vertical (plane).
Axis; Unmarked, as usual.
4p Gal.S.Pole; Centre line in a U-shaped field?
11p Gal.Pole; Canal? behind the pharaoh or goddess.
Midsummer /Cel.Pole; Top of line (juncture) near the vertical division.
Midwinter /Cel.S.Pole; U-shaped depression or furrow edge (juncture).
These polar markers place midsummer between types 14-15, analogous to Cancer-Gemini, thus the spring equinox or Age in Aries-Pisces. This time-frame is confirmed by two of the three upper characters, and is probably the Age before or during the work, as usual. The timeframes of artworks are uncertain, and always approximate to the perceived time of the formation of the culture of the artist.
Characters in the Kharga oasis abstract rock engraving RIGHT CYCLE, with red axes (noting archetypal features in brackets):
02 Builder; Corral? (build, weave of 2c) in river (rain)? And hut or field right.
03 Queen; Animal (bovid?).
04 King; Animal? (equid?).
05b Priest; ? reclining? (invert).
05c Basket Tail; Lion?
06 Exile; Bend near the centre (ingress), and Y-juncture.
07 Child; Corral? D, for calves? (juvenile).
09 Healer; Staff (more typical of 10 adjacent).
09c Basket Lid; Pharaoh’s field (weave) or palace.
10 Teacher; Pharaoh’s foot?
11 Womb; Midriff (womb) of the Pharaoh or goddess Neith or Ishtar, on a serekh palace or tax field (crops), shared with the left cycle. And midriff (womb) of the royal kneeling, or baby?
13 Heart; Chest (heart) of the pharaoh or goddess Neith (war), shared with the left cycle.
13c Basket Head; Elephant head (head). And royal or baby head (head, oracle?).
14 Mixer; Elephant (water spout. Its other features are more typical of 6, opposite 14).
15 Maker; Large loop? (rope) or frontal face (face).
Axis; Unmarked, as usual.
4p Gal.S.Pole; Pas (limb-joint) of the lion?
11p Gal.Pole; Shoulder (limb-joint) of the royal or baby (also in the constellation Coma as a baby).
Midsummer /Cel.Pole; Royal or baby’s jaw (limb-joint), a common polar feature in works involving an oracle.
Midwinter /Cel.S.Pole; Animal? Limb? Or type 4.
These polar markers place midsummer between types 13-14, analogous to Leo-Cancer, and thus the spring equinox or Age in Taurus-Aires. This time-frame is confirmed by the uppermost character at top right, and is probably the Age long before the work, as usual. The timeframes of artworks are uncertain, and always approximate to the perceived time of the formation of the culture of the artist.
- This post is a supplement to the books Mindprint (2014, Lulu.com) and Stoneprint (2016, Four Equators Media, order via edmondfurter at gmail dot com).
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