Few weeks ago I published an article about the solar snake symbolism found on 2000BC Bactrian seals... In this article I will analyse some other Bactrian seals, whose symbolism is explainable through local climate and animal behaviour in that climatic area..
Bactria is the area located on the border between Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan...
The climatic year is divided into dry part (May-Oct,Nov) and wet part (Oct,Nov-May)...
Rain was the most important thing in the lives of farmers in Bactria...It turned desert into a garden...They must have been constantly on the lookout for any sign that could announce its arrival, and anything that coincided with it soon got turned into a calendar marker...
Like for instance disappearance of snakes, which go under ground to escape incoming cold and wet weather...And the beginning of the mating season of the Goitered gazelle which starts in November, right when the rains arrive...
And so here is the first Bactrian seal for today: Mother earth flowering next to the flowing river. The snake is under ground and the Goitered gazelle is looking at the amazing effect of "the rain it has brought"...
One of the main animal calendar markers in the area between Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asia, is of course Ibex (Bezoar) goat...Which is why we find it on artefacts from Crete to Indus Valley. It's wild mating season starts in Oct-Nov and announces the arrival of winter...
In Bactria, the beginning of winter is also the beginning of the rain season...Winter - wet and cold - Bezoar is opposed to Summer - dry and hot - Snake...Snake is the symbol of sun's heat which "swallows all the water" which Bezoar goat brings to Bactria...Hence this seal...
One other animal that announces the arrival of the rain season in Central and Western Asia is the vulture...
Storms arrive when local vultures start their mating flying routines...I talked about the root of the double headed eagle symbol in my article "Double headed eagle".
Hence this seal...A vulture guy holding Bezoar goats...
In the old days, before the animal calendar markers were discovered ๐ this would have been interpreted as the "master of the animals" ๐ or a "demon" ๐ But we now know better...This is the storm god (hight flying vultures are directly associated with the sky) brining rain when Bezoar goats mate...
I find these next seals very cute ๐ Look at the way the bodies are drawn...Fluffy...
These are clouds... With Goitered gazelle horns...Just so we know when the clouds arrive...In November when Goitered gazelles start their mating season...Rally cool...
Another fluffy dude...
This guy has two vulture heads pointing to two opposite directions...The way a couple of vultures looks like during their mating synchronised flying from the ground...In November, when rain clouds arrive. Bezoar cloud is there too.
I will finish with this amazing object. The Goat of Rain. Limestone Ibex, with horns, beard and eyes made from lapis lazuli, the water stone, late 3rd - early 2nd mil. BC. Bactria (BMAC). Pic from "Battriana una antica civiltร delle oasi dalle sabbie dell'Afghanistan" by Giancarlo Ligabue and Sandro Salvatori...
Anyway, enough for today...Have fun...
To read more about ancient animal and plant calendar markers, start here…then check the rest of the blog posts related to animal calendar markers I still didn't add to this page, and finally check my twitter threads I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 9 months behind now...
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