Harness ring from Luristan

Today @dalaygiz asked me if I know what I thought about this harness ring, dated to the 9th century BC and found in Luristan, Iran...

Well it is a beautiful object. And a great example of a complex animal calendar marker...Which depicts the cool wet half of the year...

Ok to understand what is depicted on this artifact, we first have to look at the climate in Luristan. Climate charts for Khorramabad, the city bang in the center of Luristan province.

You can see that the year is divided into hot dry half (May-Oct) and cool wet half (Nov-Apr)...

In Luristan, it is the rain and snow that falls during this wet half of the year that supports life in the area...And this wet half of the year starts when Ibex goats start mating (Oct/Nov)...And fighting...And you can't miss this event. You can hear horn clashes from miles away

Which is why Ibex, the goat of rain, is the most prominent animal depicted on this artifact and one of the most depicted animals on Luristan bronzes in general. I talked about Ibexes in Luristan in my article "Dancing goats from Luristan" about this bronze top for a standard from Luristan, Iran, dated 8th–7th century BC. 

This is why Ibex was venerated in Iran, and this is why it is in Iran that we find the first Goat man...The earliest transition from Goat of rain to God of rain...I talked about this in my post "Strider"...

This is also why in Iran (and in other places with similar climate and Ibex annual lifecycle, like Mesopotamia, Central Asia, Levant, Crete) we find Ibex flanking the tree of life. Here is Iranian, Sasanian example from my post "Anahita"...

Ok, so what about the two spotty beast depicted on the sides of the harness? Well they are Asian leopards...And these beasts mate at the end of Jan beginning of Feb...

I talked about leopard as an animal calendar marker for the end of winter - beginning of spring (Jan/Feb) used in Iran (and elsewhere) in several articles. Like my post "Spots and stripes" about the depiction of leopards on Iranian pottery standing over the zig zag design depicting flowing water...

And this one, "Elamite Copper Bowl", about this amazing bowl from the early 3rd millennium BC, with the depictions of four seasons, where leopard was used as a symbol for spring...

Or this one, "A vessel from Tepe Hissar", about this amazing painted vessel from Tepe Hissar, Iran, dated to 4500-4000 BC, where both Ibex goat and Leopard/Cheetah are actually  depicted ejaculating (rain)...

Leopard is an animal calendar marker for Jan/Feb because Asian leopards mate in Jan/Feb...From the point of view of Luristan people, this is extremely important time of the year. The beginning of the snowmelt...

snow cover Iran

river flow Iran

And it is this snowmelt that contributes over 70 percent to the water flow in Iranian rivers...The water flow which peaks in Apr/May...In Taurus...Hence these depictions of flowing water pouring our of bulls on this vase made by the people of the Jiroft culture from Iran...I talked about this in my post "Jiroft flood vase"...

BTW did you see the moon pointing up on the Jiroft vase, the winter moon? The moon of the rain season... I talked about this moon symbol in my post "Angra Mainyu", about this Middle Assyrian Cylinder Seal with a "Lion-Dragon", 1300-1200 BC. 

Anyway, Taurus, is an ancient animal calendar marker which marks the calving of wild Eurasian cattle, Aurochs...This animal calendar marker is found with the exactly same meaning all over Eurasia and North Africa...I talked about this in my post "Cow and calf ivory" about many Neo-Assyrian, 9th-7th c. BC cow and calf ivories found in Middle East...

Interestingly, wild Zebu cattle from India used to start their mating season in May, so a zebu animal calendar marker is derived from the mating season rather than calving season...I talked about this in my post "Kharif and Rabi seasons"...

So where are bulls here on our Luristan harness? Well disguised as two smily horned heads under big Ibex horns...The same head we see on these Luristan winged bulls...

So what we have depicted here is the beginning of the cold wet season (Oct/Nov - Ibex), middle of the cold wet season (Jan/Feb - Leopard) and end of the cold wet season (Apr/May - Bull)...

I think 🙂

PS: Winged bull with Ibex horns...Also from Iran, depicting the beginning and the end of the cool wet season...I talked about this amazing artefact in my post "Winged bull with Ibex horns"... 

PPS: 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...

Tigers tigers everywhere

Open bracelet decorated with feline heads. 9th - 8th century BC. Bronze, Luristan, Western Iran, currently in Louvre Museum...

Which feline? Tiger or Lion? I would say tiger...See all the stripes everywhere, including the neck...

If Tiger, this becomes very interesting...Here is Luristan on the 1900 AD Caspian tiger distribution map. Did tigers live further south during Iron Age?

It seems like it, considering that people in Luristan made tiger bracelets...

Why is this important? Cause of the "monster" Humbaba and the story about the Erin forest he (it) protected...Humbaba was described as a frightening roaring monster "whose face is that of a lion" but stripy...And he guarded the eastern mountains, the residence of the sun god Utu, from where all the wood came from to Mesopotamia. Until Mesopotamian heroes killed him...And cut all the trees...

"My friend! We have reduced the forest to a wasteland...How shall we answer God Enlil in Nippur?" 

Enkidu talking to Gilgamesh, after they have killed Humbaba, the guardian of the forest, and have cut all the trees down... 

Now in my post "Humbaba", I proposed that Humbaba, the guardian of the ancient eastern forests was a tiger...

And based on the above distribution of tigers in Western Asia, and the fact that Enkidu and Golgamesh transported felled trees "down Euphrates westward", I proposed that the original location of the Erin forest which Humbaba guarded was here, in upper reaches of Euphrates...

In the time before "Civilisation came to Sumer"...

Now when I was in Louvre, I came across this bowl, with felines. It was found in Tepe Djowi, south western Iran, and was dated to 6th millennium BC

When I saw this bowl, I couldn't believe what I was looking at. Were these cats tigers? But Tepe Djowi is all the way down south, at the bottom of Mesopotamia... Did tigers live there during late Neolithic period?

The cats depicted on this bowl are definitely not leopards, so often depicted on early Iranian pottery. For comparison, have a look at this vessel also currently kept in Louvre. The vessel is from Tepe Sialk, Iran, and was dated to 4th millennium BC. The animals depicted on the vessel are leopards.

Leopards are depicted above flowing water, because they are used as an animal calendar marker for the end of winter, beginning of spring. I talked about this in my post "Spots and stripes"...

The zig zag lines symbolically depict flowing water, making leopard "the cat of flowing water"...And the reason for this is that snowmelt in Iranian mountains stats when leopards start to mate, Jan/Feb. In Aquarius 🙂

Pic snow cover Iranian mountains

And it is this snowmelt that makes Iranian rivers flow...

 Pic: water flow in Iranian rivers

And so it is possible that the felines depicted on the Tepe Djowi bowl are leopards with "flowing water" zig zag line drawn on their bodies, to symbolically turn them into "cats of flowing water"...But that would be the only such depiction of leopards I have seen so far...Which makes it a lot more likely that these cats are actually tigers...Now extinct Caspian tigers...Which is kind of amazing...

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...

Solar wheel from Luristan

Wow. Luristan (Western Iran) bronze wheel, 2nd millennium BC. Still trying to establish where is this artifact was found and where it is currently kept...

But this is truly an extraordinary artifact. Hers is why:

All these animals are animal calendar markers...

At the top are ibexes, which represent the cool, wet half of the year (Nov-Apr), because ibexes start to mate at the beginning of the rain season...

I talked about Ibex goats as animal calendar markers in my post about "Dancing goat men from Luristan"

At the bottom are lions, which represent hot, dry half of the year (May-Oct), because lions begin to mate at the beginning of the drought season...

I talked about this in my post about "King killing Angra Mainiu"...

In between are birds, migratory birds. Migratory birds fly over Iran twice: 

Sep-Nov, Autumn, between Lions and Ibexes

Feb-Apr, Spring, between Ibexes and Lions

And all this on a wheel. Ever spinning solar wheel. Representing solar year, with endless succession of winter-ibex, spring-birds, lion-summer, autumn-birds, winter-ibex...

And the wheel has 12 spokes for each month of the year...

Oh, and who's the "Master of the animals"? Have you seen this article about "Goat carrier"?

Interesting, right?

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...

Dancing goat men from Luristan

Ok how cool is this? Bronze top for a standard. ca. 8th–7th century BC. Luristan, Iran...Two male (judging by the sticky-outy bits 🙂 but I am not sure, more later) human figures with Ibex goat ears and horns holding hands...Met Museum...

So what's this about?

Ibex is the most depicted thing on ancient artifacts in Iran from Neolithic until the arrival of Islam. I talked about this in my post "Goat petroglyphs from Iran"...

And the 1st millennium BC Luristan is no exception. Ibex is everywhere...As a matter of fact some of the most amazing bronze Ibexes I have seen were made in Luristan at that time. Like this staff top depicting two male ibex goats holding "hands" from Lacma collection... 

Why? Because the beginning of the rain season (Oct/Nov) in Western Iran

coincides with the beginning of the mating season of the Ibex goats...Which starts with vicious male goat fights for females...

See how only male Ibex goats have big horns...

This is why I think that both human figures with male Ibex horns on the original staff top are actually male. And if the the one on the left once also had "a sticky-outy bit, well, sticking out" but it got broken off...Look at the above staff top with two ibexes, not ibex men, from LACMA collection...They both have "sticky-outy bits" 🙂...

Rain, heavenly semen, is what impregnates Mother Earth who then gives birth to life...And that heavenly semen starts flowing when Ibex semen starts flowing. Which is why in Iran we find a direct symbolic link between Ibex semen, rain and flowing water...I talked about this in my post "Vessel from Tepe Hissar" about this amazing object...

More ejaculating goats from Iran can be found in my post "Iranian goat of rain" about this amazing book...

Ibex goat eventually became "The goat of rain" and then it became "The god of rain" with goat horns...The "goat man", with the same goat horns, 3000BC, Persian Gulf...

I talked about this figurine in my post "Strider"...

And finally goat (ibex and markhor) became "the sacred animal" of the gods. I talked about this in my post "Goat carrier"...   

So finally what does this staff top depict? A ritual performed by men with Ibex goat headgear? A rain invocation ritual? Pretending to be "fighting" or "dancing" virile goats of rain? 

If you are interested in animal (and plant) calendar markers, start here, then check the rest of the blog posts I still didn't add to this jump page (I got lazy after a while), and finally check my twitter threads @serbiaireland I still didn't convert to blog post...I am 11 months behind now...