In Search of a Free Spirit where the Lost Socks Gather with Star-maps and Sailboats.
I arrived to the Azores in the beginning of October. The theory is that I needed rain and moonlight to pick up the reflections of the volcanic stones and minerals that the earlier humans were using to enhance their recorded history in etchings on stones. The beauty of the location is the lack of trees, allowing for a full view of the dynamic work left by earlier artist and engineers. In a previous article I covered the story , The Deer and the Alligator, and I was able to compare the topic of the deer/quadruped relationship with the alligator and some overlap with humans and other elements of the food chain. I also introduce the idea of the architectural elements included in the design that may begin to map out the origin of the artist. I have included the link below to that article
Gratefully, I was picked up by a colleague from the airport who was very busy getting organized. I was very clear that I was staying in town, right at the base of the caldera, where I could be independent. I had easy access to the stones on foot. We dropped off my bags at my little rental overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. My friend had brought along an older man, well more my age, who invited me to a bull run event. As a child, I had experienced the bull fights in Madrid, Spain, and understood the tradition. I was pleased to see that it was more of the parading of the mature bulls on a leash up and down a particular street to share the power and majesty of the great beast. Of course, there is always a bit of back lash to any parading of animals , but in ancient times, people were more closely connected to beasts and stones. It was a thrill to find myself touching the horn of the bull as he tossed his head my way. The islanders have a history with the large black bull that leaps out of mythology and crowns the island at many sites,from the center of Angra do Heroismo, to the top of the caldera.
I do love animal parades, and I am happy with good costumes. It is important to give honor to our fellow participants in the food chain. We find ourselves often separated from our roots. Animals are a huge part of the human story. I am willing to say it is our responsibility to maintain the food chain. If you have been following this blog, you may be thinking that we have done it before, and we can do it again. 😏 This is another purpose of this blog, to empower humans with their history. Lithic Literature is human history. By seeing our history and great accomplishments it can empower us to do it again.
I am including the following confrontation and some of the elements because it reflects the human condition. This is an experiment where pareidolia is not some special brain condition, but part of human development as we organized the world around us. I want to document some of the kneejerk reactions by some. Not all reactions are like this. Some folks actually feel relief to see what they have been missing, and become eager to seek it out on their own.
The next day, I was expecting to spend time up on the caldera to note the most interesting stones for the night shots. Planning out the night shots was super important. It started out as expected, but then the plan swiveled into another all together. It swiveled around an old man, who seemed to be taking the front seat. I laid in the back of the hatchback with a blanket for cover. The Plan seemed tethered to the man.
He wanted me to somehow explain everything to him asap, and then explain why he could still not see it. I felt a little perplexed by the roles being played.
The man became more agitated as I tried to explain that the brain needs time to bootup the new material. The mans behavior began to remind me of Rumpelstiltskin, becoming agitated when things were not under his control. Instead of asking me more about my research, it swiveled again to an interrogation. It began with calling me a whore, qualifying it with sexual gestures adding, he felt it was a complement to be considered a whore. I really could careless what this man thought of me at this point. I reassured him I did not find being called a whore a complement, nor did I judge anyone that was, but I assured him I was not. I tried to gesture that I was really ready to leave. I would have enjoyed the walk home, but I was truly exhausted. After some questioning of who I was and my upbringing along with birth marks, really silly stuff, I played along and garnered my own data. In the end I had heard it all before, the dissonance has a kickback, especially when an ego is concerned. I think this fellow had delusions of being magical or a good con, or both. I did give the man a huge amount of information. I left him with books, with illustrations. I left camera and stylus all ready to use. I do not doubt this man will discover the design and it will elevate his knowledge and he will use it for good. I always find the misogyny involved in the backlash offensive. I am glad I was able to go home.
We all jumped back in the car with the man complaining he might as well go home too. That was the last time I stepped into a car. I feel better on foot. For an old lady, I can run like the wind and disappear like smoke. It turns out these folks considered themselves witches. My poor friend had brought religion to the stones. Fortunately I am in good shape and know my way around town better than folks driving around in cars. I was able to avoid further interactions with this group, although there were moments of further confrontations. I do not believe in introducing the elements of religion in a science. I made it clear I was not partaking and how it interfered with my work. I do not believe the stones have any greater connections with witches than with the Inquisition.
I brought up the point that the design in the stones was not initiated as a religious experience. It was purely a survival handbook. It began with the spark of becoming human. I think the design began with Habilis and before. Every Human has a place in the design. Each contribution made, each claim to fame is recorded as the viewer makes their way around. It really seems rather magical, but it is not. It is simple math and very bright humans who were as smart, if not smarter than we are today. A lot of what we learn about survival is what we learn from our environment and fellow humans. If you change the environment or the culture, it leaves a big gap. These types of gaps can be picked up when a group of people get displaced. It only takes a couple of generations, and that second language takes over without even a trace accent. If there is a large part of the population lost, due to catastrophe with it disappears their accumulated knowledge. Earlier humans picked up on that early and began to record and reproduce their knowledge in such a way that it could be understood by anyone. This incredible effort is what I am calling Lithic Literature.
It is not only beautiful but it has a function too. I can understand when folks feel something special when they hold it in their hands or stand near it, but this is meant to be read as well. The design is made for human consumption. It tells you what plant, what fruit, what bird, what nest all swirled and intertwined. The fun part is how much the brain enjoys hanging out with this old friend. As I see it, the human brain is hung on the design and developed tightly intertwined with it. It is hard to tell where one starts and the other begins, one thing is for sure it is part of being human.
As I approached the water, the path turned into a bamboo covered precipice. I jumped into the ravine where there was clearer footing. Parts of the ravine were clogged with copious clothing. It was sad to see the pollution but it had a beauty too. The patterns and weaves of the fabrics made their way down the ravine mixed with bamboo, glass, pottery, and stone, creating a convoluted timeline. This is where my happiness lies; climbing down the waterfalls of the ravine raking around to find those bits and pieces of the human timeline. Down the path where the lost socks gather and volunteer themselves as rock sacks is another lithic literature library. This is not sea glass as I see it. They are old napped bottles. When some were drinking fine port with silverware. Others were using the refuse as resource to create tools. The stone age is still here.
As I followed the roping discarded clothing down the ravine at least I knew where the rocks were. I ended up on an over hang that was topped with a star map of the Pleiades. I was thrilled to find it. My friend on Madeira is always interested in the star maps.
Not only did I have a perfect lookout but a star map of my favorite constellation! It all makes sense if you take into account that we are probably at an ancient boat launch nestled along the jagged volcanic cliffs with access to fresh water. I am not fully versed in the ocean levels here, but I can see just below the overhang the place to haul up a small fishing vessel to unload a catch or make repairs. I would be afraid to be there during a storm with a potential rogue wave sweeping everything away. The constellation stone also included the litany of boats that usually come with the launch sites. Below I have begun to highlight a fishing vessel with a large sail. There are two crew in the vessel and one more is up on the rigging mid-mast. The crew member, bottom and center, struggles to help a fellow crewman back into the boat as sharks attack. There are always sharks and they are nasty attacking from every angle. You can see them breaching out of the water aiming for the crewmember up on the rigging. The artist was using some of the blue tones of the volcanic stone to enhance some of the sharks. The sharks are not my favorite part, but they are consistent throughout the design especially along the ocean.
I have included a few images of a internet search for old fishing boat designs to get you in the mood for looking at boats. I really enjoy the boat designs and they tell a lot about a culture. I have actually recently encountered the story that the first wheel used for transportation was the paddle wheel. I have been keeping that eye out for the pattern and so far so good. I have found the paddlewheel as part of the ancient boat designs, but that is for another time.
I have posted a few more boat designs to stir your brain. The ancient folks were big on skin and bones and were expert tanners. These resources did not survive but we can find reference to the skin boats and sails if you look. Below I have presented the star map with no highlighting to clear the palette. take a look around. relax and have a cup of tea.
Now that you have had a moment to relax and reflect and have cleared your palette for the next course, lets move on to the next subject that jumps out at us. Sharks! Below I have highlighted some of the sharks in dark blue. I am using Adobe Illustrator to add a transparent color layer to my photo image then I erase desired areas. I use a transparent line to highlight the mouth and some anatomy of the sharks but it is minimal, the stones carry the information. I am just highlighting because it is a layered affair. The highlighting is more of a documenting effort than any embellishment to the original and I keep the original image close by to always give the opportunity to see the original .
I try to take every opportunity to teach. Just exposing the viewers brain to the design can trigger the brain to start recognizing this old friend. As I have pointed out I often get a backlash when I share my material. The backlash is not necessarily a bad sign, it can indicate that the viewer is starting to think about the material. I am sprinkling the original image as we work along to remind us of the original. The brain is picking up more of the patterns each time you look at the original, so re-exposure is very important if you really want to learn how Lithic-literature works.
Then I added the crew to the sharks on the right in pink. There is a lot of action as one crew member has a spear and is jabbing a shark as the other crew member flips the shark upside-down to immobilize it. The third crew member is getting scrappy as they kick and punch their way through the shark frenzy. I just find this so exciting. I am so afraid of sharks. If you can handle it, the character flipping the shark, is also helping a forth comrade that is being attacked by the sharks! We should really be thinking of getting these sailors a boat!
I have chosen a small fishing vessel appropriate for 3–4 crew. As I have mentioned many times there are many boat designs. finding the right size crew for your boat is vital. I am flashing the boat search from the internet to help set it up for you.
Below is the full highlighted fishing boat with sail and crew. I hope we can get that poor sailor back in the boat.
There are many types of boats throughout the ages. One boat not mentioned above is the guffa. It was used in ancient times as ferry for animals. There where some very large guffas for larger animals such as elephants. Seeing the larger guffa design with the elephant on board always makes me think of the story of Noah’s ark. I believe there were many arks of this type. You can say Noah did not have the only animal ferry in town. below I have highlighted the large guffa on the star map stone. The elephant is highlighted in gray, the giraffe is yellow and a camel in ochre. The guffa is highlighted in black and the ocean in dark green. In the design the ocean is offered at different levels with different vessels and crew. The viewer is brain will use it’s common sense to match the right crew with the right boat and water level. One thing that is consistent are those hungry sharks. Keeping the trunks and necks of the quadrupeds safe was a challenge at times.
I was thrilled when I saw on the landing below the beautiful lady in the stone. I made my way down to the landing with a few jumps and skips to the large piece of volcanic stone.
As I stand on the star map facing south, I can see the large sculpture with a feminine face looking East. Like other totems it has multiple faces as you work your way around. There will also be other subjects, but the face looking to the left is what I am pointing out at this time.
I can only sit and take everything in. My heart gets full. It starts to sink in that I will have to put this into words in a way people might understand. I know there is still going to be backlash and kneejerk reactions, but I feel stronger that it is worth making the effort to bring this chapter of the human experience to light.
Thank you so much for looking. There is so much to see, and understand.
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