A closer look at the article on the fossilized circles on sand in South Africa brought to you by Lithic Literature.

 A closer look at the article on the fossilized circles on sand in South Africa.


https://phys.org/news/2024-05-fossilized-circles-sand-south-africa.html


I am here in the state of Maine where I have found a design etched in stone that appears in other parts of the world. I have been working at bringing this design to light. I believe this material etched in stone by earlier humans can be dated. I believe it has a lot of data of what the early humans knew and thought about the world around them. I have been calling it Lithic Literature. There have been complaints by some academics that it is just repetitive icons that offer little information. I am here to reinforce that the design carries on like a narrative deep into the mind of the ancient humans. Below I have taken  one of the images offered by the article and changed the lighting to better highlight what is happening in the design. Please take a moment and look at the image and let you brain linger a moment. This lingering lets your brain do its job as it looks of patterns. This process of looking for patterns takes a few exposures. Each time your brain explores the image left behind by our predecessors it will add new patterns. It will not happen all at once, so do not get frustrated if you do not see everything at once. I promise everyone can do this, it just requires a brain and an open mind.   





What the article refers to as swirls in the sand could be a defense lesson with a staff/spear to ward off a large cat attack. The reference to a large predator in Lithic Literature is not a new finding. It is a common theme in this design to illustrate possible harm and injury that early humans may have encountered and how to possibly avoid or resolve the dangers. This is a layered affair that offers numerous solutions. You may see one solution offered at the first glance, and then find others as you start to open your mind to what the narrative has to offer.
  In the image below I have chosen colors that provide contrast with the sand stone to highlight the action in the design. I have used white to depict the humans who appear to be facing a large cat. The cat can morph into a bear, sabretooth, or lion.  With anther look we could probably make out other predators that humans would have encountered such as snakes or large birds, etc. I am going to follow the bear and large cat for this article. 
  At first glance you can see the humans interact with the large cat leaping in from the left. You can make out two humans that appear to be defending themselves with staffs or spears warding off the beast. 




With a second glance after picking out the large cat encounter, I noticed that I was being provided with additional information. In the image below there is more detail on the action to take against the large cat. Here they suggest the you aim your staff/spear at the mouth of the beast. If you can manage, try to hit the canine tooth that would debilitate the animal. I personally have not tested this type of defense but if I happen to come upon a large cat I will be more confident in what action to take and maybe not become its dinner.



After digesting the large cat image we can open up to the standing cave bear. This time instead of the use of staffs/spears it appears to be ropes that are used to immobilize the big bear. You can notice that there is an eye shape that seems to be in the center of all the action. The eye is also the  presentation of a cave. The cave  here makes sense if you think of the possibility that the humans are competing with these animals for the space. With that in mind, look around for a possible rendition of a hyena. I think I spotted a wolf too. I have highlighted the large bear on the left with the humans in white handling the bear with light brown ropes.  






When taking another look at the figures I noticed that the figure in the foreground is now pregnant and heavy with breasts. The cave would be a good place to give birth once the occupying beasts are ousted. What is suggested below is the use of fire to smoke out the bear. I have highlighted the arches in black that represent the cave as having depth.  With each arch the cave becomes deeper. If you are not too scared you can see the bear/big cat deep in the cave. The humans have added some firewood at the entrance of the cave and have lit it with a torch. If the fire and smoke does not kill the giant beast they are ready with spears/staffs and ropes to complete the eviction. 

 




Now that I have your attention on the female form we can talk about hair styles. The long braids with red tint seems to be popular, but like all trends there can be draw backs with over doing it. If the braids get too long they become a hazard when encountering large cats. below it suggest that if you do not coil your braids into buns, you could find yourself being dragged off by your pigtails to be devoured. With a little exploration of the scene it gives you an idea of how their ropes were strong enough to take down a bear. The design suggest that like the braids of the woman's hair, the rope too was braided to give it tensile strength.





With a wink of an eye, the mother is now given birth in the safety of the cave. She looks relaxed with her baby at her breast. She looks like a real Madonna and child as the arcs of the cave now could be seen as a halo. There are other activities being displayed behind her as meat is butchered and skins prepared of the previous occupants of the cave. You can make out some the the hide is being braided in to more rope. It has been a good day on the sands of South Africa.





 I find these stories fascinating and I hope you do too. There are many more stories here to be teased out of the design. It is a great library of  full of information, art and history of humankind. 

I like to include Maine in each of my publications I have included a video I made of a stone site in Maine that may also include a birthing chamber. I hope you can enjoy it. I did have fun making it. Thank you so much for looking.



https://youtu.be/flEAlzY5Io0?si=VTG1gr0_CODRSIJf

I know I'm a funny 😁 😂 😀 old lady but I do believe it is outstanding to find this material here in Maine. It really turns what we thought we understood about our ancestors on its head. We have so much to learn about ourselves.  Thank you again  💖 for looking. 


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