How Old are the Zodiac constellations?
The zodiac Taurus is of particular interest. It has been attributed to the Mesopotamians (around 6000 years ago). Some scholars believe that the Mesopotamians may have borrowed the bull figure from earlier people. In Southwest France is the Lascaux cave, a cave that has many paintings and animal figures. These figures have been dated to 15000 BC and one in particular has caught the attention of stargazers. The painting shows a bull with a cluster of dots over his shoulder. The Pleiades (the sisters) is a star cluster that is associated with the constellation Taurus. The constellation of Taurus is easily identified as a V. It is interesting to note that the cluster of “dots” on the cave painting is in the general position of the Pleiades (with respect to the V). The brightest star in Taurus is Aldeberan (the eye of the Bull), look carefully at the painting and note that there seems to be a collection of “dots” in the shape of a V around the eye of the bull.
